Reports received on Saturday night indicated that one man has yet to be accounted after he vanished following the collision of ships in waters off a small island north of Taiwan.
What happened?
According to the Keelung Coast Guard and eyewitness accounts, a Chinese fishing boat, named “Min Lian Yu 61883,” sunk shortly after colliding with a Panama-registered freighter in waters 44 nautical miles northwest of Pengjia Islet at around 10 p.m. Saturday.
8 people rescued:
Coast Guard officers told, after the collision, several other Chinese fishing boats operating nearby were able to rescue eight out of the ill-fated fishing boat’s 10 crew members, and the freighter rescued another one.
A Keelung Coast Guard patrol boat arrived at the scene at 4:20 a.m. to take part in search and rescue operations, and Taiwan’s Coastal Patrol Directorate General dispatched two helicopters (at 2:52 a.m. and 8:45 a.m.), a patrol cutter and several patrol vessels to support the mission.
Rescue underway:
The nine survivors were transferred to a Chinese rescue vessel at 7:20 a.m. while the search for the missing crew member continued into Sunday afternoon. The Keelung Coast Guard has also initiated an investigation to determine the root cause of the accident.
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Source: FOCUS TAIWAN
