13 Myanmarese crewmen rescued from capsized cargo ship off Keelung

13 Myanmarese crewmen rescued from capsized cargo ship off Keelung
2019/09/19 http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201909190012.aspx

Taipei, Sept. 19 (CNA) All the crew of the Sierra Leone-registered cargo vessel JI Shun, which capsized in waters off Keelung, have been rescued, the National Rescue Command Center (NRCC) said Thursday.

The ship, which had embarked from China, issued a distress call at around 5 a.m. Thursday after taking on water off Keelung, according to the center.

It was reported that the freighter, crewed by 13 Myanmarese, suddenly sank off Keelung for unknown reasons, forcing the captain to give the order to abandon ship and issue a distress call. Two of the crew members jumped overboard in panic, according to the center.

The NRCC then notified the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and the National Airborne Service Corps, which immediately launched a rescue operation.

A Black Hawk helicopter subsequently took off from Taipei Songshan Airport and reached the targeted area at around 6 a.m., it said.

About one hour later, the two crew members who jumped overboard were airlifted from the sea and transported to the airport before being rushed to hospital. One of the two was suffering from hypothermia, while the other had no serious injuries, according to the NRCC.

The other 11 crewmen were airlifted to safety by a MND civil multi-role and offshore support helicopter.

(By Liu Chien-pang and Evelyn Kao)