Kinmen sinking kills 2; CGA, China jointly searching for survivors

Taipei, March 14 (CNA) Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) is working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crew members from a Fujian-based fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen Thursday, killing two.

In a statement, the CGA said the joint operation had managed to rescue two of the Min Long Yu 61222's six crew but that two others were already dead when pulled from the water.

Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, which capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (NM) southwest of Dongding Island in Taiwan-controlled Kinmen County, the CGA added.

The CGA said that the Min Long Yu 61222 sank 0.3 NM inside Taiwan's "prohibited waters," an area in which Coast Guard vessels are authorized to control the activity of foreign vessels.

The CGA said that four boats from the Ninth (Kinmen) Maritime Patrol along with six helicopters and three vessels from China are conducting a joint search within a 20-NM radius of where the boat capsized.

According to the CGA, the four vessels were dispatched after a request for assistance was received from the China Maritime Safety Administration shortly after 6 a.m.

Authorities have not publicly commented on the cause of the Fujian Province-based Min Long Yu 61222's capsizing and sinking at the time of writing.

Following the incident, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said it had asked the Air Force's Combat Command, the Navy's Fleet Command, and the Army's Kinmen Defense Command to keep monitoring and pay attention to the situation.