The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has rescued all 17 crew members from the China-registered cargo ship Yu Zhou Qi Hang (鈺洲啟航) after the captain abandoned the vessel, which had lost its ability to navigate due to severe weather and heavy loading.
The ship, which left Keelung at 7:57am yesterday for Zhangzhou in southeastern China's Fujian Province, was found stalled under unusual conditions 2.4 nautical miles (4.44km) north-northwest of Cape Yehliu (野柳) in northern Taiwan three hours later, the CGA said.
Photo courtesy of the CGA
The ship, which was carrying three gantry cranes and was affected by strong winds and the outer rim of approaching Typhoon Kong-rey, was unable to depart the area and gradually drifted closer to the shore near Yehliu, it said.
Rescue units dispatched tugboats to the scene, but they had to turn back due to rough sea conditions, the CGA said.
The captain of Yu Zhou Qi Hang decided to abandon the ship that evening as the wind and rain intensified, and the coast guard dispatched a 100-tonne patrol boat to rescue the crew members, returning them safely to Keelung Port by 10:05pm yesterday.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
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