Two Taiwanese scientists died and 43 other people were rescued when a research ship sank off the coast of Taiwan’s outlying islands of Penghu.
According to coastguard officials on Saturday, the ship may have sunk after hitting a reef. The 45 people on board were stranded after the ship tilted towards one side and began to take in water. Coastguard officials said the ship sank on Friday evening, and many of the people on board scrambled onto rubber rafts to row to safety.
Four navy frigates, four air force helicopters, and a transport plane rushed to the scene of the accident not long after the ship started sinking. However, one scientist was pronounced dead upon arrival at hospital, and the other died after doctors tried everything to keep him alive but to no avail.
The ship belongs to the Ministry of Science and Technology. It departed from a port in the southern Tainan city on Thursday. It was on an eight-day mission aimed at learning about the pollutants in the atmosphere and how they move through the air. It was heading to Penghu to take shelter from the bad weather.