Taiwan's Coast Guard Evacuates Crew of Grounded Freighter

[Brief] On Tuesday, 12 Indonesian seafarers were rescued from the cargo ship Jin Hua, one of the vessels that went aground off Kaohsiung, Taiwan during a storm last Thursday. 

After the grounding, the crew of the Jin Hua elected to stay on board and await a commercial salvage effort. However, as the weather deteriorated again on Tuesday, the crew asked for an evacuation. Taiwan's Coast Guard airlifted all 12 seafarers from the deck of the vessel at about 1830 hours Tuesday. 

Kaohsiung Port reported in a social media update that salvage towing operations continue for five vessels that were stranded in last week's storm. Conditions at the port on Tuesday were poor, with an extreme rain advisory in effect for the region. Flooding was reported in Gushan, Yancheng, Fongshan and Sanmin districts, and in Pingtung County. The government of Kaohsiung closed work for the day, citing the severe weather, and schools were shut. 

A video posted by Kaohsiung Harbor on Tuesday showed wave action rocking a vessel still grounded on a jetty.