Tue, Oct 06, 2009 - Page 1 News List

Thousands flee as rains pound Yilan

LOCAL TIME In the past, county or city governments have decided whether to declare typhoon days, but this time the decision was left up to individual townships

By Shih Hsiu-chuan  /  STAFF REPORTER, WITH AGENCIES

The CEOC has set up a hotline, (02) 8196-6999, for emergency calls.

However, Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), who serves as commander of the center, said members of the public who require help should first dial the regular 119 emergency number and use the center’s hotline only when the 119 line is engaged or disconnected.

In order to avoid jamming emergency lines, the minister suggested that the public report disasters to local borough or ­village chiefs who will compile the information and relay it to emergency centers operated by local governments.

Meanwhile, the captain and two crew members of a Panama-registered cargo ship named Eufonia, which sank off Taiwan’s Penghu island chain on Sunday afternoon, were rescued yesterday by marine search and rescue personnel from Taiwan and China, but 11 other crew members remained missing, the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau said yesterday.

The bureau said it received calls for help from the ship at 5:25pm on Sunday and immediately asked the search command center under the Executive Yuan to launch sea and air rescue operations.

The center dispatched military rescue helicopters to the area, while rescue helicopters and two patrol boats were also sent by the Ministry of the Interior and the Coast Guard Administration, the bureau said.

The ship’s captain, who is from Myanmar, was rescued by a Chinese ship around 9am yesterday, while two crew members from Indonesia were saved by Taiwanese vessels and were sent to a hospital in Chiayi County later yesterday.

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