Navy landing craft sinks off Kinmen County, all crew on board safe

Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) A Republic of China (ROC) Navy landing craft on Thursday sank near Taiwan's offshore Kinmen County after poor weather and big waves resulted in the cabin flooding, according to the ROC Naval Fleet Command.

Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) 1326 had completed transport and replenishment missions in the county and was returning to Taiwan proper when surging waves flooded the cabin, the Navy said in a statement.

The five crew member on the landing craft tried to drain the water but were unable to do so, the Navy said. The landing craft eventually sank off Kinmen's Liaoluo Bay at 5:18 p.m., with all crew members rescued.

The cause of the sinking is still being investigated by the Navy Command.

Presidential Office Spokesman Xavier Chang (張淳涵) said Thursday that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been informed of the incident and instructed the Ministry of National Defense to ensure all crew members return safely to port and determine the cause of the incident as quickly as possible.

Landing craft came to prominence during World War II, when they were used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore.

During Taiwan's Han Kuang military exercises in 2020, landing craft were given a multipurpose role that also involved intercepting equipment in the sea and deploying shallow-water mines.

(Novia Huang, Wen Kuei-hsiang and Christie Chen)Enditem/AW