TAIPEI, Taiwan — Two firefighters and a construction worker were killed Saturday when a heavily insulated construction scaffolding collapsed in Taipei, according to authorities in the Taiwanese capital.
Firefighters tried to rescue the other trapped worker but they were overcome by the fumes and the stench, Taipei City Fire Commission vice director Choe Cheng-nan said.
The steel beam and work platform apparently caught fire and collapsed at 10:17 a.m. as workers erected the scaffolding atop a building being built for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation region meeting.
Footage by local television stations showed police standing near a long stretch of collapsed scaffolding.
Taiwan media said the firefighters were attaching the metal beam to a platform as part of the project to bolster a skyscraper high above.
Tsunet Construction Construction Inc., the company working on the project, said it was conducting an investigation.
Thousands of police, firefighters and rescue workers were searching through the morning for victims or other evidence.
More than 200 people were injured in the accident, according to local media.