Ship with nine crew sinks off Taiwan as typhoon hits
Rescue teams in Taiwan are searching for a cargo ship that sank off the southern coast with nine crew members on board. The Tanzania-flagged freighter was near the southern port city of Kaohsiung when Typhoon Gaemi struck Taiwan.
The storm has also caused significant issues in the Philippines, where a tanker carrying nearly 1.5 million liters of industrial fuel capsized. According to Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, 16 crew members of the Philippine-flagged MT Terra Nova have been rescued, but one is still missing.
Typhoon Gaemi, which hit Taiwan’s east coast on Wednesday, has resulted in three deaths and hundreds of injuries on the island. Prior to reaching Taiwan, the storm worsened the rainy conditions in the Philippines, where eight people have died. The typhoon is expected to make a second landfall in mainland China after passing through Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Coastguard Administration reported that the freighter Fu Shun, which sank off its coast, had nine Myanmar nationals on board. They also noted that three other foreign vessels ran aground during the typhoon but are safe.
In the Philippines, the tanker that sank in Manila Bay was en route to the central city of Iloilo when it went down, creating an oil spill that extends several kilometers. Authorities said that strong winds and high waves are complicating their response efforts.
The MT Terra Nova “capsized and eventually submerged,” the Philippines coast guard said in a report, adding they were investigating whether bad weather was a factor.
In Taiwan, the storm has forced officials to cancel parts of the island’s largest annual military drills, along with almost all domestic flights and more than 200 international flights.
The island’s Central Weather Administration had also issued a land warning for all of Taiwan.
One of the three people killed in Taiwan was a motorist who was hit by a falling tree, authorities said. Another was crushed by an excavator when it overturned.
More than 8,000 people across the island have been temporarily relocated by local authorities, reports said.
Gaemi made landfall in Taiwan around midnight on Wednesday (16:00 GMT), on the northeastern coast close to Yilan county.
On Wednesday, the government declared a typhoon day, suspending work and classes across the island except for the Kinmen islands.
On Thursday, schools and offices remained closed, while flights to and from Taiwan have also been cancelled. In the capital Taipei, shelves in supermarkets were left bare as people stocked up ahead of expected price increases after the typhoon passes.
The typhoon was originally expected to hit further north, but the mountains of northern Taiwan steered it slightly south towards the city of Hualien.
The typhoon is expected to weaken as it tracks over the mountainous terrain of Taiwan before re-emerging in the Taiwan Strait towards China.
A second landfall is expected in the Fujian province in southeastern China later on Thursday. Several rail operators in China have also suspended operations.
Although it did not make landfall in the Philippines, Gaemi exacerbated the southwest monsoon and brought heavy rain to the country’s capital region and northern provinces on Wednesday.
Metro Manila, home to nearly 15 million people, was placed under a state of calamity as rivers and creeks overflowed.
Footage circulating on social media showed small cars floating in chest-deep waters and commuters trapped on the roofs of sunken buses.
The state weather bureau said the rains, which are typical at this time of the year, could persist until later on Thursday.