The military has expanded the scope of its search-and-rescue operation for the missing pilot of an F-16V jet, deploying sea, air and ground forces around the clock, but had made no further progress as of noon yesterday.
Army units stationed in Taitung County broadened their coastal search area during the day, covering the shoreline from Changbin Township (長濱) to the mouth of the Beinan River (卑南溪) in Taitung City, as part of ongoing efforts to locate the missing pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅), the army said.
The F-16V piloted by Hsin went missing off the coast of Hualien County during a nighttime training mission on Tuesday evening.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
From Thursday night through early yesterday morning, Black Hawk helicopters conducted low-altitude search flights over waters off Taitung and Hualien, while Coast Guard Administration vessels maintained round-the-clock search-and-rescue operations.
As of 9am yesterday, four vessels and 16 boat sorties had been dispatched, along with 132 vehicles and 296 personnel for shore operations, the coast guard said.
Coast guard vessels are continuing to search the area in coordination with the military and other rescue units, it said, adding that sea conditions at the site include Beaufort force 6 to 7 winds, gusts up to force 9, and waves about 3m high.
The army’s Taitung Area Command said that about 40 personnel are deployed daily for coastal search operations.
The search initially focused on coastal areas and waters off Fengbin (豐濱), the command said, adding that strong winds, high waves and southward-moving currents prompted authorities to extend the search on Thursday to the coastlines of Changbin and Chenggong (成功) townships, and further southward to the mouth of the Beinan River.
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