TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man is still missing after he disappeared while snorkeling with a friend on Monday (March 21) near Bitou Fishing Port in New Taipei City's Ruifang District.
According to authorities, the 42-year-old man, surnamed Chang (張), and his friend, surnamed Hsu (徐), began snorkeling in the Bitou Cape area at around 4 p.m. Monday.
Hsu last saw Chang about one hour later in the water below Bitou Cape Lighthouse, CNA reported. Not long afterward, Hsu came ashore because the current was getting stronger.
Suspecting that the current carried Chang toward nearby Longdong Cape, Hsu went there to look for him, but to no avail. He could not reach his friend by phone either.
He reported Chang missing at 10:35 p.m.
The New Taipei City Fire Department and Coast Guard dispatched a total of 30 personnel to search the surface of the water and the coast for the missing snorkeler overnight, but Chang was nowhere to be found.
On Tuesday morning (March 22), the fire department dispatched 24 personnel, including divers, and two rubber boats to continue the search effort. However, as the waves were rough, the sea search was suspended while the search along the coast continued.
Bitou Cape (Wikimedia Commons photo)
Bitou Cape Lighthouse (Public Domain Pictures photo)
