A group of Pokemon Go players wandered into a restricted area on the breached levees of Fugang Harbor (富岡漁港) in Taitung County in the early hours of Wednesday, before they were chased off by coast guards.
The area has been cordoned off after the seaside levees were breached by powerful waves during Typhoon Meranti earlier this month, toppling a lighthouse and making it unsafe for visitors, the Coast Guard Administration’s Jialan Harbor Inspection Office said.
However, scores of Pokemon Go players crossed the line to catch in-game creatures in the area, refusing to leave in spite of sirens from patrol cars, until they were chased off by coast guard personnel.
However, several players continued to lurk near the levees, looking for gaps in the security perimeter, an official said.
The patrol eventually called for reinforcements, who fanned out to find the gamers and talk them out of further attempts to breach the zone.
“There are only cops here, we should go,” a player was heard saying.
“There are so many [in-game] creatures. What a shame,” another said.
To get to a parking lot where the virtual creatures were apparently spawning, players would have to cross 200m of typhoon-ravaged danger zone that has a number of pitfalls, broken concrete blocks and other wreckage, a coast guard said.
“It is dark here at night and visibility is bad. They are liable to injure themselves, or even fall into the sea,” the coast guard said.
Jialan Harbor Inspection Office chief Cho Yu-chuan (卓育全) said his office had cordoned the area for public safety, adding that he was waiting for the Taitung County Government to authorize penalties for breaching the perimeter.
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