A pilot and a crew member of a National Airborne Service Corps (NASC) helicopter died yesterday afternoon after the helicopter crashed into rough seas off Taiwan’s northern coast during post-rescue operations involving a cargo ship.
As of press time last night, the copilot of the AS365 Dauphin helicopter, 46-year-old Chu Yao-chung (朱耀忠), was fighting for his life at Taipei Veterans General Hospital after sustaining serious injuries in the crash.
There were five men on board the helicopter when it crashed into the sea just off the coast of New Taipei City’s Shimen District (石門) in heavy weather at 1:18pm: pilot Lin Chen-hsin (林振興), 47; Chu; aircraft technician Hsu Yi-yang (許翊揚); and two NASC rescue team members, Tsai Tsung-ta (蔡宗達), 34, and Shih Ming-chieh (施銘杰), 33.
Photo: CNA
A rescue operation was launched immediately, involving Coast Guard Administration units and four NASC helicopters, which were able to retrieve the men within 90 minutes.
The dead men have been identified as Lin and Tsai.
The New Taipei City Fire Department said Tsai might have been struck by the helicopter’s rotor.
Photo: CNA
He was sent to the Chinshan (金山) branch of National Taiwan University Hospital, but could not be saved.
Doctors at Taipei Veterans General Hospital said they were doing their best to save Chu, who was suffering from hypothermia from his time in the cold seawater, adding that he has been hooked up to extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation equipment.
The downed helicopter was assisting in post-rescue operations involving a cargo ship belonging to TS Lines Co (德翔海運), which lost power in rough seas on Thursday and ran aground on a shallow reef about 300m offshore with 21 people aboard.
Coast guard ships and NASC helicopters were dispatched to rescue the crew and had evacuated all crew members to land as of Thursday afternoon.
However, the vessel was leaking fuel and the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) dispatched a team of technicians and inspectors to verify the extent of the oil spill and pollution to the coastal area.
The downed helicopter was returning after ferrying EPA technicians to the ship when it was reportedly hit by a high wave and spiraled into the sea.
Premier Simon Chang (張善政) visited the hospitals last night to express the government’s condolences to Lin’s and Tsai’s families.
“We will provide the highest level of compensation for the victims’ families, because they died in line of duty. An investigation will be carried out by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission to determine the cause of the accident and the parties responsible for the incident,” Chang said.
Additional reporting by CNA
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect