Four Taiwanese, 1 Filipino escape Penghu boat fire: CGA

Taipei, March 6 (CNA) Four Taiwanese and one Philippine fishermen have escaped unharmed from a fire that erupted on a boat in waters near the island county of Penghu, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said Wednesday.

The CGA said in a press release that it received a report at 7:47 p.m. on Tuesday that the Taiwanese boat, the Chan Cheng Hung, caught fire 2.8 nautical miles west of the county's Hujing Island, also known as "Table Island" or "Tiger Well Island."

All five fishermen had jumped off the boat and been rescued by the crew from another boat, the Man Fu Chun No. 99, before the CGA arrived at the scene at 8:04 p.m., it said.

The fire was brought under control at 8:48 p.m., according to the CGA, which then transported the Chan Cheng Hung fishermen back to Magong Harbor.

The wreckage of the boat, which drifted north to within 1.3 nautical miles of Xiyu Township, was retrieved and towed back to the harbor at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday by the Man Fu Chun No. 99 and another boat, the Hsing Tsai Fa, the CGA said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, the CGA said.