A man was rushed to hospital on Saturday evening after the lower part of his right leg was severed by a boat propeller while he was scuba diving near Siao Liouciou (小琉球).
Rescue personnel said the limb has not been found and it might have sunk to the seabed.
The 44-year-old from Taoyuan, surnamed Chiu (邱), joined 15 divers who set out for waters near the island’s Black Dwarf Cave (烏鬼洞) at about 2pm, guided by captain Hsu Shen-mou (許申謀) and diving instructor Chen Ching-hsun (陳慶順).
The boat, Baby 66, departed from Shan Fu Harbor (杉福) and sailed south toward waters just off the coast from Black Dwarf Cave where the group hoped to see sea turtles and other marine life.
Hsu started the boat’s engine at about 5:30pm in preparation to return to shore, believing everyone was on board.
Chiu was reportedly near the back of the boat at the time and was caught in the propeller.
The other divers searched the vicinity, but could not find Chiu’s lower leg, and gave up their search to rush Chiu to hospital.
Staff at Antai Tian-Sheng Memorial Hospital in Pingtung County’s Donggang Township (東港) said that they treated the wound, as the leg could not be found.
Authorities said they are treating the incident as an act of negligence by the business leading to bodily harm, adding that an investigation is under way.
During initial questioning Hsu said he started the boat’s engine because the waves were strong and were pushing the boat dangerously close to coral nearby.
Police said they are waiting to take a statement from Chiu to better understand the circumstances at the time of the accident.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS