A man was rushed to hospital on Saturday evening after the lower part of his right leg was severed by a boat propeller while he was scuba diving near Siao Liouciou (小琉球).
Rescue personnel said the limb has not been found and it might have sunk to the seabed.
The 44-year-old from Taoyuan, surnamed Chiu (邱), joined 15 divers who set out for waters near the island’s Black Dwarf Cave (烏鬼洞) at about 2pm, guided by captain Hsu Shen-mou (許申謀) and diving instructor Chen Ching-hsun (陳慶順).
The boat, Baby 66, departed from Shan Fu Harbor (杉福) and sailed south toward waters just off the coast from Black Dwarf Cave where the group hoped to see sea turtles and other marine life.
Hsu started the boat’s engine at about 5:30pm in preparation to return to shore, believing everyone was on board.
Chiu was reportedly near the back of the boat at the time and was caught in the propeller.
The other divers searched the vicinity, but could not find Chiu’s lower leg, and gave up their search to rush Chiu to hospital.
Staff at Antai Tian-Sheng Memorial Hospital in Pingtung County’s Donggang Township (東港) said that they treated the wound, as the leg could not be found.
Authorities said they are treating the incident as an act of negligence by the business leading to bodily harm, adding that an investigation is under way.
During initial questioning Hsu said he started the boat’s engine because the waves were strong and were pushing the boat dangerously close to coral nearby.
Police said they are waiting to take a statement from Chiu to better understand the circumstances at the time of the accident.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
RSS