Seven rescued after Taiwanese fishing boat catches fire

Taipei, Jan. 11 (CNA) All seven crewmembers of a Taiwanese fishing boat have been rescued after the vessel caught fire Friday off of Guanyin Township in the northern county of Taoyuan, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said Saturday.

The CGA's Hsinchu squadron said it sent five patrol vessels on a rescue mission immediately after being tipped off about the fire on the Keelung-registered Hsin Yu Feng No. 26, which broke out for unknown reasons around 5 p.m. about 0.5 nautical miles off the coast.

The seven crewmembers included a captain and fisherman from Taiwan and five Indonesian hands.

They had abandoned the boat and jumped into the sea before being rescued by another fishing boat operating nearby.

Facing waves up to three meters in height, the Hsin Yu Feng No. 26 sunk at 9 p.m. Friday about 0.3 nautical miles off of Guanyin's Datan Village, the CGA said.

It added that it has notified the Taipei Port Bureau to issue oceanographic and meteorological data warning boats in the area that they should pay special attention to safety amid severe marine weather conditions.