A pilot and a crew member of a National Airborne Service Corps (NASC) helicopter died yesterday afternoon after the helicopter crashed into rough seas off Taiwan’s northern coast during post-rescue operations involving a cargo ship.
As of press time last night, the copilot of the AS365 Dauphin helicopter, 46-year-old Chu Yao-chung (朱耀忠), was fighting for his life at Taipei Veterans General Hospital after sustaining serious injuries in the crash.
There were five men on board the helicopter when it crashed into the sea just off the coast of New Taipei City’s Shimen District (石門) in heavy weather at 1:18pm: pilot Lin Chen-hsin (林振興), 47; Chu; aircraft technician Hsu Yi-yang (許翊揚); and two NASC rescue team members, Tsai Tsung-ta (蔡宗達), 34, and Shih Ming-chieh (施銘杰), 33.
Photo: CNA
A rescue operation was launched immediately, involving Coast Guard Administration units and four NASC helicopters, which were able to retrieve the men within 90 minutes.
The dead men have been identified as Lin and Tsai.
The New Taipei City Fire Department said Tsai might have been struck by the helicopter’s rotor.
Photo: CNA
He was sent to the Chinshan (金山) branch of National Taiwan University Hospital, but could not be saved.
Doctors at Taipei Veterans General Hospital said they were doing their best to save Chu, who was suffering from hypothermia from his time in the cold seawater, adding that he has been hooked up to extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation equipment.
The downed helicopter was assisting in post-rescue operations involving a cargo ship belonging to TS Lines Co (德翔海運), which lost power in rough seas on Thursday and ran aground on a shallow reef about 300m offshore with 21 people aboard.
Coast guard ships and NASC helicopters were dispatched to rescue the crew and had evacuated all crew members to land as of Thursday afternoon.
However, the vessel was leaking fuel and the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) dispatched a team of technicians and inspectors to verify the extent of the oil spill and pollution to the coastal area.
The downed helicopter was returning after ferrying EPA technicians to the ship when it was reportedly hit by a high wave and spiraled into the sea.
Premier Simon Chang (張善政) visited the hospitals last night to express the government’s condolences to Lin’s and Tsai’s families.
“We will provide the highest level of compensation for the victims’ families, because they died in line of duty. An investigation will be carried out by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission to determine the cause of the accident and the parties responsible for the incident,” Chang said.
Additional reporting by CNA
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS