Taiwanese fishing boat hits ground off Batanes coast
MANILA, Philippines – A Taiwanese fishing vessel ran aground off Batanes, the Philippine Coast Guard said Wednesday.
The incident happened on Tuesday, 16 nautical miles northeast off Itbayat Island, Batanes, at 6:50 a.m., the PCG said in a statement.
Two Taiwanese and three Indonesian nationals were aboard the Taiwanese fishing vessel “FV Jui Fai Tsai.”
“Immediately, Coast Guard District North Eastern Luzon was alerted and directed to dispatch a Search and Rescue Team to render necessary assistance,” the PCG said.
Taiwan coast guard also coordinated with the PCG and Department of Foreign Affairs for the dispatch of its vessel for search and rescue.
The crewmen of the grounded vessel were successfully rescued later in the afternoon of the same day. The vessel was also extracted.
“Rescued crew members were brought back to Taiwan in good physical condition,” PCG said.
PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo told INQUIRER.net that the crewmen were not fishing in Philippine waters.
Nearly a year ago, a Taiwanese fisherman was shot and killed in an encounter between PCG and a Taiwanese fishing vessel in Balintang Channel.
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