TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A search is ongoing for 12 missing sailors of a Panama-flagged freighter, which sank off the coast of Changhua on Monday (Oct. 31).
On Tuesday (Nov. 1), two empty lifeboats were found at sea 23.5 nautical miles and 21 nautical miles to the southwest of Penghu Airport, CNA reported. Seventeen Indonesian crew members who were on board the freighter abandoned the ship after it sank, boarding three lifeboats to flee for their lives.
The cement freighter, identified as the Shin Shuen No.1 (鑫順1號), experienced main engine failure off the coast of Changhua on Monday afternoon. The ship then began to tilt and take on water after being buffeted by large waves from Tropical Storm Nalgae.
Among the 17 crew members, five were rescued by a nearby Evergreen Marine Corp. container ship. The other 12 are still missing.
The Evergreen container ship arrived at Taichung Harbor on Wednesday morning, and the five Indonesian sailors went through customs before being placed in hotels.
The Coast Guard and the National Airborne Service Corps (NASC) are conducting sea and air searches for the sailors who remain unaccounted for. The NASC dispatched six helicopters for the search, while the Coast Guard dispatched four large vessels, per CNA.
