Three workers were killed on Monday after an oak tree fell on scaffolding at an apartment building under construction in Taiwan, authorities said.
The incident occurred in Taoyuan City, north of the capital Taipei, and also injured four other workers, who were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, Taipei Police Department spokesman George Lin said.
No one else was hurt.
Lin said the construction company, Formosa Acoustics Development Co., dispatched a crane operator to the site to stop the work at 8:30 a.m. He failed to immediately stop after repeated instructions to do so.
Lin said it took about two hours for workers to discover the accident. Authorities ruled out foul play.
In December, at least five people were killed when a crane collapsed at the site of a new skyscraper in downtown Taipei.
Taiwan is known for its fast-paced construction industry, and an average of 22 workers are killed every month by their own machines or accidents on the job, according to official statistics.
Hospitals are overwhelmed by workers carrying heavy loads on building sites. The government has called for the creation of an agency to regulate work conditions, but said it is too early to say how the new organization would operate.
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