Because visibility was poor in the heavy rain, the flight crew did not see that construction equipment, including two excavators, two vibrating rollers, one small bulldozer, and one air compressor, had been parked on runway 05R. In addition, the runway contained concrete Jersey barriers and pits. About 41 seconds later, the aircraft collided with the machinery and broke into three major pieces. The fuselage was torn in two, and the engines and landing gear separated. A crane tore the left wing from the aircraft, forcing the jet back onto the ground. The nose struck a scoop loader, with a following large fire, destroying the forward section of the fuselage and the wings. Seventy-nine of one hundred fifty-nine passengers and four of twenty crew members died in the accident. Many of the dead were seated in the middle section of the aircraft; the fuel stored in the wings exploded and incinerated that section. At 23:17:36, the emergency bell sounded and 41 firefighting vehicles, 58 ambulances, nine lighting units, and 436 personnel were dispatched to assist survivors and extinguish the fire. Chemical extinguishing agents rained on the aircraft at about three minutes after the impact. At 23:35, roughly 10 minutes after the impact, the fire was brought under control. At 23:40, non-airport ambulances and emergency vehicles from other agencies congregated at the north gate. At 00:00 Taipei time on 1 November, the fire was mostly extinguished and the front part of the aircraft was destroyed. Authorities established a temporary command centre.