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.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS