Authorities have begun identifying the bodies of fishermen killed in Tuesday’s bridge collapse in Yilan County. Six fishermen were reported missing on Tuesday after the Nanfang’ao Harbor Bridge suddenly collapsed, crushing their boats.
The six missing fishermen are reportedly guest workers from Southeast Asia. As of Wednesday afternoon, search teams had recovered five bodies. Two have been identified as Philippine nationals, while three have been identified as Indonesians.
Teams continue to search for one fisherman who remains unaccounted for, reportedly a Philippine national.
The bridge collapse has also left ten injured. Nine are fishermen and one is the Taiwanese oil tanker driver who was on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Most of the injured are recovering and have been discharged from hospitals. However, one Indonesian fisherman remains in serious condition.
The cause of the collapse remains unclear. There has been speculation that a typhoon on Monday and an earthquake Tuesday morning may have weakened the structure. One expert has pointed to corrosion of the steel cables holding the bridge up.
In a press release Tuesday evening, the Taiwan International Ports Corporation said that steel bars on the bridge had rusted in the past, but that work had been done to repair the damage last October. The press release did not include mention of steel cable.