Woman found dead after falling into Sun Moon Lake

Taipei, May 23 (CNA) A 37-year old woman who accidentally fell into the water from a pier at Sun Moon Lake, a popular tourist destination in central Taiwan, was found dead 21 hours later on Saturday, according to the Nantou County Fire Station.

The victim, surnamed Chang (張), was about to board a ferry at Xuanguang Pier Friday evening when a friend saw her slipping into the water, the fire officials said.

Chin Ko-han (金可瀚), a section chief with the Nantou station, told reporters Saturday that rescue divers were immediately deployed to search for her.

However, because the water was murky due to the constant rain, underwater visibility was extremely poor, Chin said, and divers had to call it quits after four hours into their search at around 9 p.m. Friday.

However, a team of some 30 divers was deployed the following morning to look for the missing woman and found her at the bottom of the lake at 1:55 p.m. with no signs of life.