A woman walking past a construction site in New Taipei's Xindian District narrowly escaped death when six heavy steel bars fell from above, landing less than a meter in front of her. This is bad news for the contractor, which has now been shut down and fined, and a warning for anyone walking near building sites.

• Six rebars, each about three meters long, dropped one after another from the site on Ershizhang Road late last month.
• The first bar hit the ground less than a meter ahead of her; she dodged only because someone across the street shouted a warning.
• By the time police arrived, the bars had already been cleared away, so officers passed the case to New Taipei's labor inspection office.
• The city's public works bureau ordered the site to stop work and fined the contractor under the Building Act.
• The woman is asking drivers who passed by that morning to check dashcam footage to help piece together what happened.

Outlook: The site stays closed while labor inspectors investigate, and authorities are urging pedestrians to stay alert and avoid lingering under active construction.