The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday that a diver who went missing earlier this week off New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳) remains missing, while three female divers in a separate, unrelated incident were safely rescued by a fishing vessel.
A 37-year-old man surnamed Chuang (莊) went free diving with a married couple off Bitou Cape Park on Wednesday morning, the CGA said.
The couple returned to shore at about 11am, but Chuang did not surface, prompting a large-scale sea and air search, they said.
Photo copied by Lin Chia-tung, Taipei Times
However, after 72 hours of search efforts, Chuang could not be found, the CGA said, adding that it would continue to monitor the area during regular patrols.
In a separate incident yesterday, three female divers who were reported missing in waters off New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) at 10:44am were rescued by a fishing vessel at 11:42am, they said.
The divers, identified by their last names Liu (劉), Yang (楊) and Lai (賴), were led into the water at about 8:40am by an instructor surnamed Sung (宋), who alerted the police when the women did not return to shore, the CGA said.
The trio had drifted to an area near fishing nets, which they held on to, and were later rescued by a fishing vessel, the coast guard said.
The women were unharmed and did not require medical treatment, they said, adding that the boat safely brought them to Shicheng Fishing Harbor (石城漁港) in Yilan County.
In another case yesterday, a 16-year-old female high-school student was reported missing after the bamboo raft she and her acquaintances were on capsized, the CGA’s Eastern Branch said.
The branch said that one of its divisions received a report at 1:33am that a young girl had gone missing at sea.
A search-and-rescue team made up of coast guards and firefighters from Hualien County’s Fengbin Township (豐濱) were sent to the area to locate the girl, they said, adding that helicopters were also deployed.
The girl remained missing as of 11am yesterday, the branch said.
Initial investigations found that the girl was relaxing on Hualien County’s Siuguluan River (秀姑巒溪) at about 1am yesterday with another high-school girl and an 18-year-old man.
The trio spotted a bamboo raft by the estuary and decided to board the vessel, they said.
They made their way out to sea, but soon capsized due to strong waves, the branch said.
The man and the other girl made their way to shore, but the girl in question was nowhere to be seen, so they reported her missing, they said.
The missing girl was dressed in a white top and black shorts when she went missing, the branch said.
People who want to engage in water activities at sea should check real-time water conditions on the “Go Ocean” mobile app, the branch said, adding that the public should call the CGA 118 hotline if they see someone drowning.
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