Plane crash recovery diver dead - Taipei City, Taiwan

[DandyDon]

Diver who helped search for victims of air crash dies | Society | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS

Taipei, Feb. 11 (CNA) A diver in his late 60s who helped search for missing passengers after the TransAsia Airways (復興航&#31354 crash in Taipei Feb. 4 has died of a ruptured aneurysm.

It was not immediately clear if the death of Chung Lu-chi (鐘陸&#22522 on Tuesday was related to his work in the cold waters of the Keelung River.

Chung, who local media said was 67, was hospitalized in the northeastern county of Yilan Monday with pain in his abdomen and was diagnosed with an aneurysm in his iliac artery, a blood vessel in the pelvis.

He was scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday but died Tuesday night after the aneurysm ruptured.

Chung is remembered as a fervent participant in rescue work over the past two decades.

A recent retiree from his job at a telecom company, the experienced diver had led a group of divers and rescuers from Yilan to participate in the search and rescue work in the wake of the air crash, said a representative of the Lan-Yan Rescue Association (蘭陽救災協&#26371.

The representative who identified himself by the surname Ma (&#39340 expressed sadness over the news of Chung's death, saying his associate and friends had played an active part in underwater rescues across northern Taiwan.

As of 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, 42 people onboard Flight GE235 were confirmed dead and one remained unaccounted for, according to the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA). Fourteen passengers and one flight attendant were the only confirmed survivors of the 58-person flight.

The pilot and co-pilot were among the deceased.

Rescuers and divers continued to comb the Keelung River in search of the missing, locating two additional bodies early Wednesday afternoon.

Helicopters had been dispatched to look for signs of the missing, the CAA said.

Flight GE235 plunged into the Keelung River in Taipei shortly after takeoff from the city's Songshan Airport on the morning of Feb. 4.

Initial reports indicate the pilots of the ATR 72-600 turboprop shut off one engine after the other had already failed, before the plane dived into the river.

 

[TSandM]

Nobody in the US would have a 48 hour delay for surgery on a symptomatic aneurysm. Thank God I live where I do.

 

[KevinNM]

Nobody in the US would have a 48 hour delay for surgery on a symptomatic aneurysm. Thank God I live where I do.

Yes. It's like the death of Natasha Richardson. You look at the timeline and ask "it took HOW long to get into surgery?"