A young boy who was swept out to sea late yesterday afternoon while playing at the mouth of a river in Taitung, and a nearby angler who jumped in to rescue him both remain missing as of press time, according to police.
A witness said the angler dropped his fishing rod and leapt into the sea after seeing the boy swept away, managed to grab hold of him and tried to swim back to shore, but both were engulfed by a large wave and disappeared.
A witness said that his older brother surnamed Chen (陳) had rushed to save the boy under the South Taimali Bridge in Taimali Township.
Photo courtesy of a reader
The boy, who was around five or six years old, was with elder relatives.
The Taitung County Fire Department said it received a drowning report around 6pm and sent inflatable boats to search the area where the incident occurred, joined by a Coast Guard patrol vessel and a helicopter conducting an aerial search.
The sea search was temporarily suspended after sunset due to darkness and the onset of rain.
The search continued this morning.
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