The northeast coast, stretching from Taipei County's Rueifang (瑞芳) to Ilan County's Tou-cheng (頭城), is one of the most popular areas to visit in Taiwan. There were some 1,831,000 visits to the principal 15 scenic spots last year and 530,000 visits up to May this year. At the same time, however, the waters are dangerous and drowning incidents in these areas regularly make the headlines.
As a result, the Northeast Coastal Scenic Area Administration (東北角海岸國家風景區管理處) has set up a new lifeguard training course to create more lifeguards ahead of the wave of people setting off to do water activities that are expected during the mid-summer months.
PHOTO: VICO LEE, TAIPEI TIMES
The 20 trainees, mostly in their 20s and able to swim at least 200m, will have finished the four-weekend, 64-hour course next Sunday and join, temporarily, the Red Cross Organization Taipei County Branch Northeast Coast Life Saving Crew (紅十字會台北縣支會東北角救生隊), a group of 41 volunteer lifeguards living in Taipei County.
PHOTO: VICO LEE, TAIPEI TIMES
"This year we required the managers of privately owned scenic spots, such as Long Dong Wan Ocean Park (龍洞灣海洋公園) and Yenliao Seaside Park (鹽寮海濱公園) to send at least one employee to be trained. After finishing the course, the 20 trainees will have to participate in three rescue missions before they can receive the lifeguard certificate issued by the Red Cross Organization," said Hsu Yuan-feng (許源豐), chief of the Northeast Coastal Scenic Area Police Force.
The Administration set up a similar training course for paramedics last year, with this year's course scheduled for September. Scenic spot managers are also required to send their employees to the course. "The private sector is more efficient at water safety, if provided with proper training. That's why we set up the program," Hsu said.
PHOTO: VICO LEE, TAIPEI TIMES
Presently, the managers of private tourists destinations have already stationed lifeguards by their swimming pools. On a typical weekend at Long Dong Wan Ocean Park, for example, up to a dozen lifeguards oversee the two or three operating swimming pools. There are, however, only five of these lifeguard-patrolled areas, out of 14 such scenic spots along the Northeast Coast. Some popular beaches such as Fulong Waterfront Park (福隆海濱公園), Chinshawan (金沙灣) and Honeymoon Bay (蜜月灣) are officially closed and therefore have no lifeguards.
The most accident-prone area, according to the North Coast Guard Bureau, Coast Guard Administration, Excutive Yuan, (行政院海巡署北部地區巡防局) is the coastline between Keelung (基隆) and Yehliu (野柳), where large numbers of anglers gather, particularly before and after typhoons, when the waves bring in large amounts of fish. The number of drowned anglers far exceeds that among swimmers and regular tourists.
"With anglers, the police usually advise them to wear life vests and not to stay too close to the water, but that seldom stops them. During typhoons the police can issue warning tickets under the Law on Disaster Prevention and Rescue (災害防救法), but when there are no typhoons, there's nothing the police can do," Hsu said.
A widespread misconception that has caused delays in the rescue of stricken swimmers, is that they dial 119, the number of the fire department, when it's the Coast Guard Administration that deals with water disasters and is closer to the coastline than fire stations. To tackle the problem, the north coast guard set up a 118 hotline early last year, but a lack of promotion means many people are unaware of this initiative.
"Few people know of the 118 number, so that the speed of the rescue process remains a problem at present," said Wu Ming-de (吳明德), head of the Red Cross Organization Taipei County Branch Northeast Coast Lifesaving crew.
Last year, the North Coast Guard set out to rescue 38 people, brought back 29, with one death and eight missing. Up to the end of June this year, it had set out to rescue 35 people, saving 25, while seven died and three were missing. When the coast guard are at their wits' end, they call the volunteer lifeguards, who are usually some distance from the coast.
Although coast guards usually manage to launch a sea-borne rescue attempt within six minutes after receiving a call, it often has to rely on better-trained lifeguards.
"I did propose to the coast guard that they should send people to be trained on the course. They are on the frontline of water rescue and are also much better equipped, but they are not lifeguards. They are soldiers after all. They need more training to save people's lives," said Wu, who added he was contacted by the coast guard to help out on "eight out of 10 occasions."
Also, the coast guard has other logistical problems with rescues. "Our ships are very large. It's appropriate for rescuing people in boat accidents. However, drowning people are usually quite close to the shore and shoals. To avoid hitting the shoals, we cannot get close enough to the drowning people. That's one of the defects of coast guard rescues," said Liao De-cheng (廖德成), a public relations chief at the North Coast Guard Bureau.
Wu and his teammates share two low-end 30-horsepower boats. "A normal lifesaving boat needs to be 150 to 250 horsepower, but our budget doesn't allow that," Wu said.
The good news is better lifesaving techniques have made up for poor equipment. Last year, the crew went on 16 missions, saving three people while nine died. However, there were missions but some were not recorded as the rescued wished to remain anonymous.
"Usually out of 10 rescues, only one is successful," Wu said. As a life saving crew is usually not the first to be contacted, they usually arrive at the scene over half an hour after the accident happens.
"As we are not a profitable organization, we rely on donations, which is not enough for us to set up a patrol station and we have no patrol cars. Usually the fire department or the coast guard call me, and then I contact my teammates, who are scattered all along the coast."
Earning his living as a taxi driver, Wu rushes to the scenes in his taxi and calls other lifeguards on his cell phone. However, the biggest obstacle to a successful rescue, Wu said, based on 14 years' experience, is the drowning people themselves.
"It's common sense to wear life vests when fishing near the coast, but most people just don't do that. And when people fall into the sea, they panic. When it's low tide, they struggle toward the sea, exhaust themselves and pass out. At high tide they struggle toward the shore, hit the rocks and pass out. They only need some basic knowledge to avoid drowning. If they just relax and float with the water, saving them would be much easier."
Wu was not optimistic about trainees devoting themselves to volunteer work in the future. Although the trainees are required serve three rescue missions, it's not binding whether they become volunteer lifeguards or not.
"A licensed lifeguard can find a well-paid job at swimming pools. Few will choose to do non-paid lifesaving here. Although we badly need more helping hands, I can understand that some people's priority in life is having a paying job," Wu said.
The course taught by Wu and other coaches in Taipei county, teaches both water safety and the rescue aspects of lifesaving, focusing on how accidents happen.
"An important part of the training is how to protect ourselves when rescuing drowners. A drowning person can be very powerful and can cause more danger to the lifeguard than the sea itself, so it's necessary to teach them how to prevent having the drowner drag the lifeguards down with them," Wu said.
"These [skills] will be useful even if they choose not to be a professional lifeguards in the future. When they go vacationing near the water, they will know how to protect themselves and save their family and friends from accidents."
Wu still hopes the trainees will someday realize how lucky they are to be volunteer lifeguards along the northeast coast.
"The happiness of being a volunteer lifeguard is something no one else understands. When the family of [someone] almost drowned almost wants to kneel down in front of you and thank you for saving the life of their loved ones, their thank you means more than the two words. A lifeguard's feeling at those times is beyond description," Wu said.
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