The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ office in Mumbai, India, remains in contact with the Indian Coast Guard’s District Headquarters No. 4 amid a search, including for two missing Taiwanese, after a container ship operated by Taiwan-based Wan Hai Lines caught fire off the west coast of southern India on Monday, ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said yesterday.
Of the 22 crew members onboard the Wan Hai 503, 18 abandoned the ship and were rescued, but the remaining four people were missing after the incident near the port of Beypore, the company said in a statement.
The four missing are two Taiwanese, one from Indonesia and one from Myanmar, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India said.
Photo: CNA
The Malayalam-language Kerala Kaumudi reported that the rescued crew members — including four Taiwanese — were escorted ashore by the Indian Navy.
The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy had launched a search operation for those still missing, media reports said.
Indian media reported that the vessel was carrying highly explosive cargo, but the situation has yet to be clarified by the company.
In other news, Hsiao said that no Taiwanese have been arrested or reported injured during the protests against federal immigration raids in Los Angeles.
The ministry and Taiwan’s representative office in Los Angeles are monitoring the protests, which mainly took place in the downtown area and the city of Paramount, where few Taiwanese live, he said.
People visiting the representative office are not likely to be affected, as it is far from the protest areas, he said.
Hsiao called on Taiwanese to avoid protest sites and enforcement zones.
In case of an emergency, Taiwanese should call emergency services in the US on 911 or the office’s emergency hotline at 213-923-3591.
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