Ship sinks off Taiwan, 9 sailors missing

TAIPEI (AFP) — Typhoon “Gaemi” swept towards southern China on Thursday after killing at least two people in Taiwan, with nine sailors missing after their cargo ship sank in stormy weather.

The typhoon — the strongest to hit Taiwan in eight years — had already forced authorities on the island to shutter schools and offices, suspend the stock market and evacuate thousands of people.

By Thursday morning, the typhoon had weakened and “the center has moved out to sea” at around 4:20 a.m., said Taiwan’s weather authorities.

Taiwan’s fire agency said it received a report early Thursday that a cargo ship had sunk off the island’s southern coast, forcing its nine Myanmar crew members to abandon ship in life jackets.

“They fell into the sea and were floating there,” said Hsiao Huan-chang, head of the fire agency, adding that rescuers contacted a nearby Taiwanese cargo ship to assist them.

Hsiao did not specify when the Tanzania-flagged ship sank, but said the rescue vessel arrived in the area at 8:35 a.m.

“(When the Taiwanese ship arrived) the visibility at the scene was very low and the winds were too strong,” he told reporters.

“When the weather permits, we will immediately dispatch ships or helicopters to rescue but at the moment it is not possible.”

Another official at the agency told Agence France-Presse after the briefing that the sailors were missing.

“Gaemi” made landfall in Taiwan on Wednesday night with sustained wind speeds of 190 kilometers per hour at its peak.