Thai freighter sinks off Penghu, 1 dead, 10 rescued, and 8 missing

The other eight members of the 19-person-strong crew were still unaccounted for.

According to rescued sailors, the Thai freighter Sea Angel capsized in the rough water and went under in about 5 minutes at a little after 8:00 a.m., littering the sea surface with the hundreds of giant logs the ship carried and grease. The 15-meter-long logs, pushed by turbulent waves, collided with each other, adding to the difficulty of the rescue.

The airborne service rescue helicopter arrived at the scene at around 8:40 a.m. and made visual contact with six sailors near by a capsized lifeboat. One of them was apparently lifeless, the other five had put on their safety jackets and clung on to each other. They were all covered in grease and suffered from hypothermia. The crew from the chopper dropped a smoke discharger to mark the location.

By 9 a.m., the coast guard, braving two-story high waves, began rappelling down to rescue the sailors, who were rushed to a hospital in Taichung at around 10:10 a.m. Two other helicopters from the airborne service pulled out the remaining 5 ship crew members at around 9:35 a.m. and 11:18 a.m. respectively.

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