A man and his two-year-old son were killed yesterday, after their vehicle flipped while fording a swollen river in Hualien County.
A convoy of 21 people in eight vehicles went traveling in Erzih Mountain (二子山) in Wanrong Township (萬榮) yesterday.
When afternoon storms in the mountains caused the water level in the Shoufong River (壽豐溪) to rise quickly, the convoy was concerned they would be unable to get back, witnesses told Hualien firefighters.
Photo courtesy of the Hualien County Fire Department
A 31-year-old member of the convoy surnamed Lin (林) volunteered to try crossing the river in his four-wheel drive to see if the others could follow, they said.
However, his vehicle flipped over while in the middle of the river, sweeping Lin and his son downstream, they said.
Firefighters said they received a report about the incident at about 5pm.
Impeded by the darkness and poor visibility in the turbulent river, rescuers were unable to find Lin’s body until about 10pm about 3km downstream, firefighters said.
A team of more than 50 rescuers with drones initiated a widespread search for Lin’s son that continued until this morning.
They were eventually able to recover his body at about 10:30am today, also about 3km downstream.
The other seven vehicles and 19 people were able to be evacuated from the riverbank by 2am.
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