Two Ships Sink off Taiwan, 1 Dead, 3 Missing

Typhoon Megi brought heavy wind and rain to the Taiwan Strait Monday night, killing one and leaving 3 missing.

Late Monday night the Panama-flagged XIN YI, a cement carrier sailing from China to Brunei, sank in rough seas off the coast of Miaoli.

Early Tuesday morning a nearby cruise ship pulled 3 of the crewmen to safety. The local coast guard rescued 15 survivors and pulled one body from the sea. The search continues for the 3 remaining crewmen.

The Department of Water Quality Protection reports as little as 10 percent of the vessel’s 300 tons of fuel might be found in the sea, while the remaining 90 percent has most likely been weathered and evaporated by the rough seas caused by typhoon Megi.

The crew included 17 Burmese, four Indonesians and one Taiwanese.

A second ship sank just hours after the Xin Yi, early Tuesday morning. The freighter DILI STAR, also Panama-flagged sunk off Kao-shiung.

All 12 crewmen onboard abandoned the ship by lifeboat and were rescued. The local coast guard reports no serious injuries.