Taipei: A residential fire in Taibao City, Chiayi County, early Saturday morning left a woman dead and her elderly father missing, with rescue personnel continuing efforts to locate the man, according to local firefighters.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Chiayi County Fire Bureau received a report at 4:59 a.m. about a fire at a two-story residential building in Taibao. The bureau promptly dispatched multiple fire engines and rescue personnel to the scene. Upon arrival, firefighters found the building, which featured a brick first floor and a metal-sheet second floor, completely engulfed in flames.
The fire bureau reported that the home was occupied by a man in his 80s and his daughter, who served as his primary caregiver. After firefighters extinguished the blaze at 5:46 a.m., they discovered the charred body of a woman, believed to be the daughter, at the rear of the first floor. Unfortunately, the elderly man remains unaccounted for.
As of 10 a.m., efforts to locate the father were still underway, and the fire bureau noted that authorities had informed another daughter of the man to assist with matters related to the incident. Expressing concern over the tragedy, Taibao Mayor Cheng Shu-fen visited the scene and was shocked to learn that the property belonged to the father, a former secretary of the Taibao City Farmers Association, surnamed Hsu.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, the fire bureau stated.