The coast guard on Friday morning joined Chinese rescuers in searching for a Chinese fisher who fell overboard near the Matsu islands, a day after Taiwanese and Chinese crews launched a separate search for the crew of a boat that capsized near Kinmen County.
The 26-year-old fisher on the Min Lian Yu 60911 fell into the sea on Thursday afternoon about 3 nautical miles (5.56km) east of Lienchiang County’s Sanlien Islets (三連嶼), east of Beigan (北竿).
The coast guard’s Matsu flotilla received notice at 12:30am from the Lienchiang County Government and dispatched a team to help Chinese crew in the rescue effort.
Photo courtesy of the Matsu coast guard
A source with knowledge of the matter said the crewmember was suspected to have slipped while walking along the edge of the boat.
The other crewmembers attempted a rescue, but contacted Chinese authorities after they were unsuccessful.
The Chinese coast guard sent a vessel and three to four other fishing boats to search for the missing crewmember, before contacting authorities in Lienchiang County to aid the search, the source said.
Hung Wen-chuan (洪文泉), head of the Matsu coast guard, told the Central News Agency that the flotilla dispatched two to three boats to the area after receiving notice from the Lienchiang County Economic Development Department.
Meanwhile, the search is still ongoing for the two crewmembers of the Min Long Yu 61222, which capsized on Thursday near Kinmen County.
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