Evidence preservation completed at Tainan fire and explosion site as heavy machinery speeds cleanup

Cleanup crews moved into the site of a metal-waste fire in Tainan’s Annan District after investigators completed the evidence-preservation process. The city’s Environmental Protection Bureau deployed excavators, skid-steer loaders, trucks and other heavy machinery to begin restoring the area.

Workers removed the soil that had covered the site, cleared debris left by the fire and transported the waste to licensed treatment facilities. They also cleaned roadside drainage ditches, removed sediment and pressure-washed nearby roads.

The bureau said it had initially used soil covering to prevent pollution from spreading. It waited for prosecutors, police and a technical team to complete sampling and forensic work before starting the environmental restoration.

The cleanup included road sweeping, disinfection and broader environmental work around the fire site. The bureau said it would continue monitoring air quality and surrounding conditions. It also plans to seek reimbursement, under the law, from people involved in the case and the operators that generated the waste.