Taipei, Sept. 7 (CNA) Three Chinese sailors on a bulk carrier transporting coal were pronounced dead after being found unconscious in the ship’s cargo hold in waters off Hualien in eastern Taiwan on Wednesday, according to local authorities.
Hualien prosecutors said the 230-meter Liberian-flagged MSXT-ECHO, with a crew of around 20, had made its most recent port call in Singapore and was originally scheduled to dock at Hualien’s Hoping Port on Sunday.
At around 8 p.m. Wednesday, however, the ship’s crew reported from waters outside the port that three sailors had been found unconscious in a closed cargo hold.
The Coast Guard, Hualien Fire Department and National Airborne Service Corps responded to the call, airlifting the men to shore and transporting them to area hospitals, where they were later pronounced dead, the prosecutor’s office said.
The men, all Chinese nationals, were identified as a 54-year-old surnamed Yao (?), a 33-year-old surnamed Lee (?), and a 27-year-old surnamed Liu (?).
The prosecutor’s office said it has asked the ship to wait in waters outside Hualien Port because it will be unable to dock there until Saturday, and in Hoping Port until Sunday, because of its size.
While the ship is waiting, it said, Coast Guard officials will board the vessel to confirm the number of people on board, seal off the compartment where the men were found, and interview the vessel’s owner.
Forensic experts and labor officials will also board the vessel once it has docked in Hualien to conduct inspections and to try and determine what happened, the office said.
The prosecutor’s office said it had been able to contact the men’s families, and with their permission, would conduct autopsies to determine how they died.
Several Taiwan media outlets have reported that the men were thought to have suffocated after inhaling toxic gas while working in the ship’s hold.
Hoping Port is located in Xiulin Township, around 40 kilometers north of downtown Hualien, and is the site of the coal-fired Hoping Power Plant.
