Last two tourists rescued after rafting accident, death of firefighter

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) The last two of five tourists whose raft overturned while they were on the Zhuoshui River in Nantou County on Sunday were airlifted to safety from a sandbar on Wednesday morning.

However, a firefighter involved in an earlier rescue operation, surnamed Wu (伍), died Monday.

The tourists sent a distress signal Sunday after the water level in the river suddenly rose while they were rafting, according to the Nantou County Fire Bureau.

Responders who arrived in the area near Sunhai Bridge in Xinyi Township found that the raft had overturned amid strong currents and water released from the Wujie Dam.

Two of the rafters managed to escape to safety on their own, but the other three were stranded on a sandbar.

The three were contacted and confirmed to be safe, and rescue efforts were suspended after nightfall.

The operation resumed Monday, when rescue personnel hiked upstream along the river and reached the stranded rafters, successfully rescuing one of them.

However, when rescuers later attempted to continue the operation upstream in an inflatable rescue boat in the afternoon, the boat was hit by strong currents and capsized, resulting in the death of a firefighter.

The Nantou County Fire Bureau expressed deep regret over Wu's death Monday, saying it would work to secure relevant compensation and benefits for him and assist his family with funeral arrangements.

Later that night, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) also expressed condolences to Wu's family in a Facebook post.

In response to public outrage over the tourists' decision to go rafting in unfavorable weather conditions, which resulted in firefighters having to take on the risks of the rescue operation, the fire bureau said there is currently no legal basis for fining them.

Under the county's self-government ordinance governing hiking activities, fines and demands for reimbursement of rescue expenses apply only to hiking accidents in restricted mountain areas, meaning the provisions do not apply to rafting accidents, the bureau said.

It added that the costs of the rescue operation, including the deployment of firefighters, rescue vehicles, boats and a helicopter, have yet to be estimated.

Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) on Tuesday urged the public to check weather forecasts before participating in high-risk outdoor activities in mountainous or river areas to reduce the risks faced by rescue personnel.

Also on Tuesday, Nantou County Magistrate Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) said the county government would review existing regulations and discuss whether they should be revised.