A diver from an Yilan County search-and-rescue team died on Tuesday of a ruptured aneurysm after braving cold weather for three consecutive days searching for missing passengers from TransAsia Airways Flight GE235.
Yilan-based Lan Yang Diving Association secretary-general Chung Lu-chi (鐘陸基), 67, joined other divers in their search efforts on Friday last week, two days after the aircraft carrying 58 people plunged into the Keelung River in Taipei.
Chung’s family said he mentioned abdominal pain on Monday after returning to Yilan. The Lotung Poh-Ai Hospital discovered an aneurysm near his bladder, which was to be removed yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the Lanyang Diving Association
The aneurysm ruptured on Tuesday afternoon, causing a seizure and shock. Chung died at 11pm.
Chung’s wife said she suspected that the weather could have played a part in his death.
The Yilan County Fire Bureau said it would determine whether there were any links between the 67-year-old’s death and his search-and-rescue work, adding that it would do its utmost to see that Chung’s family is properly compensated.
A member of the Lan Yang Rescue Association surnamed Ma (馬) said Chung was a well-trained diver who had been devoted to rescue missions for two decades.
“Chung was particularly skilled in underwater search-and-rescue. Whenever there was an accident involving water in northern Taiwan, he was always the first to volunteer to help,” Ma said.
Since the crash, Ma said he and his peers have been commuting daily between Yilan and Taipei.
“Normally, we leave home at 4am and arrive at the scene at 6am, before spending the next 12 hours going underwater searching for missing victims,” Ma said, adding that he is grateful for Chung’s dedication.
In related news, teams yesterday found the remains of two people under the Nanhu Bridge (南湖大橋), about 700m from the crash site.
They are thought to be 21-year-old Chinese passenger Zhang Xiaobin (張曉濱) and Taiwanese passenger Yang Jung-tien (楊榮添).
The discovery brings deaths from the crash to 42 and leaves one passenger missing.
Additional reporting by Wu Jen-chieh, Yu Heng and Wu Cheng-feng
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