Business · Fab construction safetyNanzih construction collapse: Four dead, TSMC suspends new-fab steelworkAired October 21, 2026 at 6:48 AM UTCWritten October 21, 2026 at 6:52 AM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:07A collapsing steel structure killed four workers at TSMC's Fab 22 construction site.0:12The deaths have stopped work at the Kaohsiung site and widened the safety response0:16to new Fab steelwork across Taiwan.0:19Investigators must determine what failed and why the workers' protection didn't0:22prevent their fatal falls.0:23All four men worked for Shanghao Machinery.0:26They fell with heavy steel components during a lifting and installation operation.0:30All four were taken to hospital, but none survived.0:33The collapse happened on October 20, 2026, in Nanzi District, Kaohsiung, at0:39TSMC's Fab 22 development.0:42The site is part of the Southern Taiwan Science Park.0:45The men were working on its Phase 4 construction project.0:48The Kaohsiung Fire Department received the emergency call at 4.53 that afternoon and0:53dispatched 10 vehicles and 22 personnel.0:56That time marks the notification to firefighters.0:58Three workers died that night.1:00The fourth, a man surnamed Huang, remained in intensive care with unstable vital1:04signs.1:05Huang died in hospital on the morning of October 21st.1:08The first emergency update had described two men without vital signs and two1:12injured.1:12By that evening, three deaths were confirmed.1:14The changing toll followed the same four workers as their conditions deteriorated.1:18Someone being found without vital signs still needs a formal death declaration,1:22which explains the difference between the earliest emergency figures and the later1:26confirmed toll.1:27The Bureau's account places the crew on the third floor exterior steel structure,1:31carrying out steel lifting and installation.1:33Welding was also part of the work.1:35The suspected failure lies in bolts on an exterior steel connecting plate at the1:39third floor level.1:40The Science Park Bureau says those bolts may have broken, allowing the workers and1:45steel components to fall.1:47Investigators are still examining that sequence.1:49The Bureau has identified bolt fatigue and too few bolts as preliminary1:54possibilities.1:54It hasn't determined the cause.1:56The third floor work location also doesn't give investigators a measured fall2:00distance.2:01Reconstructing the failure will require examining the connections and the loads they2:05carried.2:06Investigators are examining the exterior steel connection.2:09Earlier explanations involving scaffolding or crane bolts point to different parts2:13of the operation.2:14Those explanations can't be combined into a settled cause.2:17Construction schedule pressure is also contested, with no final technical finding2:22resolving its role.2:23The Science Park Bureau's director rejected a connection to schedule pressure and2:27said protective measures and safety ropes were in use.2:30How that protection was arranged and why it failed to prevent the deaths still needs2:34explaining.2:34Labor inspectors are investigating responsibility, with TSMC's safety personnel2:39assisting.2:39TSMC's wider suspension reaches steel structure operations at new FAB construction2:44sites across Taiwan, alongside the Kaosium construction site.2:48The Bureau's specific local stoppage covers Phase 4 steel lifting and installation.2:53That takes the safety response beyond the individual work area where the men fell.2:56TSMC initially announced on October 20 that it was voluntarily stopping the related3:01work.3:01By October 21st, the company had announced the broader suspension.3:05The Bureau also called for the accident scene to be preserved so investigators could3:09examine what happened.3:10FAB22 is being developed for 2 nanometer and more advanced chip making technologies.3:16Phase 4 construction had been scheduled for completion in 2027.3:20Those plans explain the project's role in TSMC's expansion, while the immediate3:24consequences fall on construction workers and the stopped steelwork.3:28The investigation hasn't yet explained why the connection failed or who was3:32responsible for keeping the elevated work safe.3:34The stopped Phase 4 steelwork can resume only after an improvement plan is submitted3:39and approved.3:39No restart date has been announced.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗