Two Days Of Quakes In Taiwan

Authorities pledged Monday to tighten inspection on the capital's high-rise building sites, a day after a powerful earthquake sent two cranes crashing down from a Taipei skyscraper under construction, killing five workers.

Meanwhile, two moderate earthquakes, of magnitudes 4.8 and 4.5, shook eastern Taiwan Monday. The quakes, centered off the northeastern coastal town of Ilan, were among the more than 100 aftershocks following Monday's magnitude 6.8 tremor, seismologists said.

Monday's quakes triggered landslides but no injuries were reported.

Two crane operators and three other construction workers were killed when Sunday's quake dislodged two cranes from the top of the 60th floor of the unfinished Taipei Financial Center, which will be Taiwan's tallest building when completed at 101 stories.

The cranes brought steel beams and chunks of cement down as they fell, and debris injured about 10 people and smashed several cars. Six of them are still hospitalized but were in stable condition, officials said.

Some 220 people were injured across the island in Sunday's quake. An 8-year-old boy was in a coma after being hit in the head by a falling rock in the eastern coastal city of Hualien, but most other injuries were minor, the Disaster Control Center reported.

Two leading chipmakers reported slight damage from the quake. Semiconductor production is delicate and can easily be disrupted by ground movement.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said it lost about half a day's silicon wafer production, and United Microelectronics Corp. said some of its equipment was slightly affected.

Authorities inspected the Taipei Financial Center site Monday and said the earthquake may have loosened the screws binding the cranes to a temporary steel structure.

Cheng Chun-chi, a Taipei public works official, said authorities will inspect all high-rise construction sites in the capital to ensure they meet safety codes.

Labor Council Chairwoman Chen Chu said the government may have to further tighten quake-resistance standards at construction sites.

Newspapers quoted unidentified officials as saying Taiwan's codes on tower crane operations focus on wind resistance and are lax on quake resistance.

Lo Rong-chien, chief prosecutor of the Taipei District Court, said authorities will determine whether the cranes fell because of negligence or violation of safety codes.

Taiwan, which sits on two shifting plates, is hit by thousands of earthquakes a year, although most of them are centered deep under the sea and cause little or no damage. However, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in September 1999 killed 2,378 people and destroyed more than 40,000 homes.