TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An SOS message in a bottle found on the beach of the Irish island Inisheer may be linked to the crew of a Taiwanese fishing ship that went missing over four years ago in the Pacific Ocean.
The Yong Yu Sing No.18 fishing vessel, operating out of Yilan, was reported missing on New Year’s Day, 2021, and despite the vessel being recovered, the Taiwanese captain and nine Indonesian crew members were never found. Recently, visitors to a beach in western Ireland may have found their call for help, reported Extra.ie.
On Tuesday, a Reddit user named Almym uploaded several photographs to the beachcombing subreddit. The photos showed a glass bottle sealed with a cork and wax, and a message written in Indonesian, which was also signed with the character of the missing captain’s surname, Lee (李).
The Reddit poster reportedly broke the bottle to read the message inside, which reads: “Please send help. We have been lost since Dec. 20. Three of us are here, we do not know the name of this island, but we are injured. Help. Hello. Sos. Lee (李). Yong Yu Sing No.18.”
The Yong Yu Sing No.18 was discovered in January 2021 by a US rescue aircraft floating about 600 nautical miles (1,112 km) north of Midway Atoll several days after contact was lost with the captain and crew. Windows on the boat were smashed and a life raft was missing.
The Reddit poster who discovered the bottle later shared that they handed the note to the local authorities, reported Extra.ie.
