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Coast Guard saves 18 Vietnam stowaways in seas off ChanghuaCNA TAIPEI--Eighteen Vietnamese who attempted to stow away on a ship to Taiwan were rescued Monday after drifting in waters off Central Taiwan's Changhua County for three days, the Coast Guard Administration said Tuesday.
January 16, 2013, 12:00 am TWN The Miaoli County Police Bureau notified the administration's Central Coastal Patrol Office (CCPO) Jan. 13 that a Vietnamese woman surnamed Chiang had called for help, saying that she was drifting on a ship along with 17 compatriots, according to the CCPO. The rescue team searched the waters off Miaoli County but failed to find the vessel, said Lu Kung-yu, a coast guard captain. As it was suspected that the seasonal northeast monsoon might have pushed the boat further south, the team then searched the waters off Taichung and Changhua County before finding the 10 male and eight female Vietnamese on a poorly equipped wooden boat in heavy seas seven nautical miles off Changhua's Fangyuan Township, Lu said. Four of the 18 were slightly injured and all will be deported back to their home country, said the CCPO. One of them said that they departed from China Jan. 10 and planned to work illegally in Taiwan. |
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