TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A two-year-old boy plummeted to his death after slipping through a gap in the fencing on a suspension bridge in central Taiwan on Sunday (Nov. 3).
On Sunday afternoon, as a toddler surnamed Hsu (許) was walking along the Aowanda Suspension Bridge in Ren’ai Township, Nantou County, he suddenly fell through a hole in the fencing, plunging 70 meters to his death, reported CNA. The child was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead.
A staff member of the Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area told the news agency that they received a report that a boy had fallen from the suspension bridge at 1:40 p.m. Staff members immediately rushed to the scene with firefighters from the Nantou County Fire Department to carry out a search-and-rescue effort.
Park staff found the boy lying on a stream bed and took him to the nearest parking lot. Firefighters then rushed the boy to Taichung Veterans General Hospital Puli Branch.
(CNA photo)
The child was not exhibiting any vital signs when he arrived at the hospital. Doctors were unable to resuscitate the boy and he was declared dead.
After the accident, Hsu's father was taken in for questioning by Nantou County Police. The man told officers that he had allowed the child to walk on the bridge by himself and suspected that the boy had pushed the fence on his own, causing a gap to open up and leading to his tragic fall into the valley below, reported CNA.
Police said that prosecutors from the Nantou District Prosecutor's Office would visit the hospital on Monday to confirm the cause of the boy's death and further investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident.
On Monday, Apple Daily reported that Hsu's mother claimed she was holding her son's hand when a sudden gust of wind blew, forcing her son against the fence and causing her to lose her grip. His mother stated that she saw him start to slip through a gap in the fence but was unable to grab him in time to prevent his fatal fall.
Aowanda Suspension Bridge. (Forestry Bureau photo)
