Tainan: The heart and lungs of a worker from state-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower), who was electrocuted while working in Chiayi County, are stable despite having sustained severe damage, an official at Chi Mei Hospital in Tainan’s Liuying District said.
According to Focus Taiwan, Lee Yuan-han, 36, remains in the intensive care unit after an electric current estimated at 6,000 volts entered through his left hand and exited through his right. The hospital’s Secretary of Medical Affairs, Ku Po-ming, reported that Lee has been placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for life support. His body temperature is being kept a few degrees lower than normal as part of the treatment following serious inflammation of his heart.
Ku, who also serves as an attending cardiologist, indicated that the function of Lee’s heart and lungs has stabilized. The hospital has performed surgeries on the electric shock wounds, and the next step will be to assess how the electric shock affected Lee’s brain to determine whether further treatment is needed.
Cooling methods are often used in patients who suffer cardiac arrest to help prevent further damage to organs, including the brain, by slowing the body’s metabolism. However, this treatment can also affect consciousness, as outlined on the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s website.
President Lai Ching-te visited Lee and assured the Taipower worker’s family that the hospital would make every effort to save his life. Lai instructed Taipower and its supervisor, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, to investigate the cause of the accident.
The Southern Occupational Safety and Health Center found that Lee was not wearing electrical insulated gloves at the time of the incident. Consequently, work on a feeder line in Chiayi’s Yizhu Township was halted. Wu Chun-chieh, a section chief at the center, announced that a fine up to NT$300,000 (US$10,187) would be imposed on the company for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Typhoon Danas, which made landfall on July 6, toppled a record 2,454 power poles across Taiwan and caused power outages for over a million households. Recovery efforts in Chiayi County and Tainan have been hampered by days of rain, leaving hundreds of homes still without power. Additionally, two people were killed during the typhoon in Tainan, where thousands of homes sustained rooftop damage.