Three more bodies of migrant fishers missing after the Nanfangao Bridge (南方澳橋) collapsed on Tuesday morning, crushing three fishing boats, were found yesterday, bringing the death toll to five, with one person still missing, authorities said yesterday.
Two bodies were recovered from the waters near the collapsed bridge in Suao Township (蘇澳) at about 11pm on Tuesday, the Yilan Fire Bureau said in a statement.
A third body was found at about 1am yesterday, the fourth at 8:40am and the fifth at 2:27pm, it said.
Photo: Chiang Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
The victims were identified as 29-year-old Wartono, 32-year-old Ersona and 28-year-old Mohamad Domir, all Indonesians, and two Filipinos, 44-year-old Andree Serencio Abregana and 46-year-old George Impang, the Yilan Emergency Operation Center said.
The bodies were taken to the Su’ao Branch of Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
The search for the last missing fisher, believed to be Filipino Romulo Escalicas, is continuing, the center said.
Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC, 台灣港務) plans to give compensation of NT$5 million (US$160,963) to the families of each fisher who died, TIPC chief secretary Lin Chien-ming (林健明) said.
The 10 people who were injured — including nine migrant fishers and one Taiwanese driver — are to receive NT$10,000 to NT$36,000, Lin said.
Tseng Yen-pu (曾彥博), a representative of Sang Yi International Co, the fishers’ broker, said they were not covered by group accident insurance.
Meanwhile, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) said that its top priority is to recover the remaining missing man.
Some of the victims had relatives working in Taiwan, who went to the scene of the accident, the office said.
The families would also receive financial assistance from the Philippine government, and MECO would assist in the repatriation of the remains, it added.
Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei Representative Didi Sumedi said that his office was still trying to establish contact with the families of killed and injured in the collapse to offer assistance.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday offered its condolences for the deceased to the Philippine and Indonesian offices.
The ministry and its overseas offices would offer assistance needed by the bereaved families, it said, adding that it has been in close contact with the governments of the Philippines and Indonesia as well as the domestic agencies involved in the rescue mission.
The military has deployed a floating platform to help workers remove debris and try to extract two of the boats from under collapsed sections of the bridge. The third boat was pulled out on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by Lin Chia-nan
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS