First responders yesterday rescued six of seven junior and senior-high students who were swept away while swimming at Pingtung County's Fangliao (枋寮) fishing port, but found the last student dead this morning, local authorities said.
The students were swimming at the port at about 3pm yesterday when strong ocean currents pulled them out to sea, the Pingtung County Bureau of Fire and Emergency Services said.
Local fire fighters and coast guard personnel, as well as two soldiers who were nearby at the time, rescued six of the students by 8pm last night, but an 18-year-old high-school student surnamed Huang (黃) remained missing.
Photo courtesy of Pingtung County Bureau of Fire and Emergency Services
A 27-year-old soldier surnamed Chen (陳) said that he and another soldier launched a speedboat to help after witnessing the incident.
Trained in water rescue, the pair brought lifesaving equipment, and with the help of a group of standup paddleboarders, pulled five of the students from the water.
Two of them were unconscious, but coast guard personnel arrived on scene shortly afterward and performed CPR on them.
The sixth student climbed onto a set of wave-dissipating concrete blocks and was rescued shortly afterward.
Authorities suspended their search operations at 8pm yesterday due to poor conditions, but resumed their efforts at about 5am this morning, sending out more than 20 police officers and firefighters, search and rescue boats and drones, the bureau said.
They found Huang's body at 7:20am and brought it back to shore where his family confirmed his identity, it said.
Follow-up matters would be handled by police, the coast guard and Huang’s family, it added.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
RSS