A tie collapsed into a harbour in northeastern Taiwan on Tuesday, crushing several fishing boats with some party feared trapped, authorities said.
At least nine people fell in the water and seven were rescued, Taiwan’s Inside News Agency said. Six people were seriously injured, it reported.
Divers were searching for those feared trapped in a combine of fishing boats, two government officials from the port township of Suao told Reuters.
“The bridge collapsed at enveloping 9:30 a.m. while an oil tanker vehicle was on it, setting the vehicle on fire,” said Shih I-chun, the secretary of the town’s mayor. “We respected that some fishermen might be trapped in the boats.”
Authorities have set up an emergency center and the military said marines and the flotilla were helping with the rescue efforts.
“Saving life is priority,” Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang said in a Facebook proclaim. “I will ask related authorities to make all effort for the rescue.”
A fishing boat is pictured after it was crushed when a span collapsed in the Nanfangao fish harbour in Suao township on October 1, 2019.
Sam Yeh | AFP | Getty Images
The collapse of the bridge, which leads traffic over the busy fishing port, damaged three fishing boats and two vehicles, including the tanker, the ceremonials said, though the reason for the collapse in clear weather was not immediately clear.
Late on Monday, typhoon Mitag, bundling maximum winds of 162 kph (100 mph), swept past northeastern Taiwan, injuring 12 people and cutting power to more than 66,000 lodgings, with more than 150 flights cancelled.
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