Cargo Ship Collision off Taiwan Kills Two, Two More Missing

Officials have confirmed that two people have died, and two remain missing after the collision of two cargo ships off the western coast of Taiwan on Friday night. 

The vessels that collided have been identified as the Jui Zong Ship-managed, Te Hsing Maritime-owned “Te Hsing”, and the Well Ship Management-managed, TG Finance-owned “Taroko”.  The collision occurred around 3:30 am Taiwan time, about 22 nautical miles off Penghu Island located off the western coast of Taiwan. 

The Te Hsing had been travelling toward the Taiwanese island of Kinmen near China from Kaohsiung laden with 13 crewmen at the time of the accident.  Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau chief secretary Chang Kuo-ming confirmed the deaths of a Taiwanese and Indonesian crewmember at the scene of the incident.  The Taiwanese captain on the Hsing, as well as another Indonesian is still missing. All crew of the Taroko are reportedly safe, and were on their way from Hong Kong to Taichung Harbor.

The Ministry of National Defense and the Coast Guard Administration are currently deploying search and rescue missions for the two men, adding that the first 72 hours of search are the most vital to finding someone alive. 

It has not been disclosed what happened to cause the collision.