Diver missing on Chinese “ghost ship”

[DandyDon]

Diver disappears during dismantling of Chines... | Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A 47-year-old man was reported missing Wednesday (December 25) afternoon after he had gone diving to inspect the dismantling of a Chinese “ghost ship” off the coast of Yilan County.

The empty freighter had turned up near northeast Taiwan last September, and was towed away to the rocks near Daxi railway station in the township of Toucheng to prepare for its dismantling.

A diver from Keelung named Lu (呂) went diving to around noon Wednesday, the Central News Agency reported. When a colleague noticed he had not returned yet by 2 p.m., he alerted the emergency services, which sent vehicles and boats to start the search amid strong waves.

However, by 5 p.m., no sign of the missing man had been found, according to CNA.

Later reports identified the man as the manager of a subcontractor working on the project, and cable station TVBS reported an oxygen bottle had been found near the site.

When the freighter was originally located, it carried no crew and no freight, but it bore the name of the Chinese city of Wuhu in Anhui Province written on its stern. Since nobody claimed ownership, the authorities decided to take the ship apart.

 

[DandyDon]

Diving around a ship being dismantled sounds unstable and scary to me.

Missing Taiwanese diver found dead in Chinese... | Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The diver who went missing near a Chinese “ghost ship” on Wednesday (Dec, 25) around noon was found dead Wednesday night.

Lu (呂), 47, was reportedly one of the contractors hired to dismantle the ship, which had shown up abandoned near the coast of northeast Taiwan in September. He dove into the waters off the Yilan County township of Toucheng to inspect the task’s progress.

When he failed to show up after several hours, a colleague alerted the emergency services, but strong waves during the afternoon hampered their work and prevented them from diving, CNA reported.

It was not until 9:50 p.m. when the waves subsided that the rescue team found the Keelung man’s lifeless body stuck n the bottom of the ship’s cabin. The precise circumstances of his death are not yet known.

The freighter was initially located off New Taipei City, drifting without crew or cargo. As it became stranded in Yilan County, the authorities decided to tow it to the Daxi area of Toucheng before dismantling it. According to television footage from the scene, the task is nearly complete.

 

[Hiszpan]

Lost his way and couldn't find the exit perhaps? It does say "bottom of the ship's cabin", might mean in the cabin at the bottom of the ship...