TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A 35-year-old man, surnamed Li (李), died in an accident involving an excavator in Kaohsiung’s Qishan District early Thursday (Sept. 28) morning.
The man was using the excavator to dig an earthen pit near a highway bridge to bury garbage, in what investigators say was an illegal waste disposal operation, reported UDN. Lee reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which fell into the pit and caused him to be fatally injured.
Reports suggest that Lee was not wearing a seatbelt when the excavator rolled forward into the pit. Lee was thrown from the driver's seat and pinned by the vehicle, before being buried by loose dirt.
The accident was reported shortly after 5:30 a.m. on Thursday morning by a friend of the deceased, who called for emergency services to help the injured man. During his exchange with emergency responders, the friend indicated that he needed to contact “his boss,” which led police to suspect illegal activity.
The friend who reported the incident turned off his phone following the exchange and had fled the scene by the time responders arrived. He later contacted police around 11 a.m. and was questioned by investigators in relation to the incident.
There were reportedly four people present at the time of the accident. The illegal dumping operation was being conducted on government-owned property near a national highway, per UDN.