A pile of magnesium-aluminum scrap and waste oil on a vacant lot in Tainan's Annan District caught fire and set off a chain of explosions, injuring 15 people and damaging dozens of homes — and the man behind the dumping is already out of the country.

• The blast hurt 15 firefighters and residents, burned 11 homes and damaged 57 more.
• Police and prosecutors are hunting a businessman surnamed Wang, who was already wanted in another case and fled abroad at the end of June.
• Wang registered three companies; two are closed and the last one's address in Kaohsiung turned out to be a hair salon he no longer rents, pointing to a shell registration.
• The lot is private land lent to the local borough chief for neighborhood parking, and a middleman surnamed Yang arranged for Wang to stack the waste there.
• The borough chief denies approving any dumping, calling the accusation rumor, and says he is focused on helping residents rebuild.

Outlook: The middleman and borough chief have been questioned and released, so the case now hinges on tracking down Wang overseas and proving who authorized the waste pile.