Two members of a filming crew died Friday after they fell into a valley in Miaoli County while working on the Taiwanese television drama series “First Embrace” (??), for which shooting had begun in February.
The incident occurred at Shenxian Valley in Nanzhuang Township, and involved a 38-year-old photographer identified by his last name Huang (?) and a 34-year-old sound assistant surnamed Wang (?).
Tang Hui-ping (???), a deputy chief of the Miaoli County Fire Bureau, said a team was immediately dispatched after a report was received at 3:51 p.m. that two people had accidentally fallen into a valley.
When rescuers arrived at the scene, the two men were found 20 meters downstream from where they had fallen and without signs of life, Tang said.
Huang and Wang were subsequently airlifted to Miaoli General Hospital and Da Chien General Hospital, but the deputy chief said doctors later pronounced them dead after resuscitation attempts failed.
It was not immediately known whether their cause of death was due to drowning, but according to the hospitals, Huang was found to have sustained multiple fractures to the head while Wang had a scalp hematoma and also an external head injury.
The two men were in Miaoli that day as part of an 80-person crew to film the drama series “First Embrace,” which is being produced by Taipei-based Domani Production Co.
Later Friday, Nanzhuang Township chief Lo Chun-lien (???) said their cause of death had yet to be determined pending a police investigation.
The filming crew from Domani had applied to shoot at Shenxian Valley on Feb. 14, Lo said, but because the team failed to complete a scene, they applied again for permission to film at the site from March 10-15.
On Saturday, the production company issued a statement saying that filming of “First Embrace” was being temporarily halted as authorities look into the cause of the accident.
According to the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area Administration, Shenxian Valley, also known as the Valley of Gods, is situated at 650 meters above sea level and is a gorge formed by the confluence of Luhu River, Luchang River, and Fengmei River.
The valley in Miaoli is also one of the locations used for the filming of the award-winning 2011 Taiwanese historical drama film “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale.”
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel