《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》Search operation locates four more bodies in river

COLD WORK: Water temperature dropped to about 9°C in the Keelung River, as divers and rescue workers toiled overnight in search of the remaining missing passengers

Search teams found four more bodies in the frigid Keelung River （基隆河） in Taipei yesterday, with the death toll standing at 35 as of press time last night, while the search continues for eight still listed as missing from the crash of Wednesday’s TransAsia Airways （復興航空） Flight GE235.

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The bodies retrieved were of one elderly female, one male adult and two male children, discovered some distance downstream from the crash site.

The finds were the result of a search operation in the water, conducted by teams outfitted in wetsuits and joined together in a human chain walking downstream in the river, combing for missing bodies that might still be lodged in underwater sandbars or the muddy riverbed.

A diver surnamed Chen （陳）, from a civilian search-and-rescue team based in Yilan County, said he and his team went into the water about 50m from the crash site yesterday morning.

“We were just feeling our way around in the turbid water. Suddenly, I felt a hand on the bottom. Realizing that I might have found one of the missing victims, I dove down to check. It was a painful sight, because I found the bodies of two boys who were still strapped into their seats,” he said.

After unbuckling the seat belts, Chen said in a soft, calming voice: “Don’t be afraid now. Uncle has found you, and will carry you up,” as he delivered the bodies of the two boys to the riverbank.

In the course of the morning’s operations, authorities decided to expand the recovery effort for the missing people further downstream to the Tamsui River （淡水河）. The Keelung River winds through Taipei’s northern districts of Neihu （內湖）, Shihlin （士林） and Beitou （北投）, before joining the larger Tamsui River at Guandu （關渡） and flows out into the Taiwan Strait at the town of Tamsui （淡水）.

“We need to provide family members with a body, and we’ll do our best,” Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je （柯文哲） said yesterday, adding that there were concerns that missing bodies might have already been carried out of Taipei’s river system into the sea.

Assisting divers searching downstream as far as the Dazhi Bridge （大直橋）, fire department boats and police personnel combed the waters and shores down to the confluence of the Keelung and Tamsui rivers, with New Taipei City teams responsible for the search further downstream.

The expanded search was conducted on the rivers with motorized vessels and inflatable rubber boats, and from the air by “Seagull” helicopters from the air force, as well as from the National Airborne Service Corps under the Ministry of the Interior.

Deployed on Thursday, the helicopters have been searching from the crash site to an area five nautical miles （9.26km） offshore from the Tamsui River estuary.

Yesterday’s massive aerial and riverine search operation saw the mobilization of police and firefighters from Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Keelung, Yilan County and Kinmen County, along with military units and specialized underwater corps from the Coast Guard Administration.

Members of civilian diving clubs also joined in the search effort, but some of them told the press that officials in charge deliberately ignored them, as they found the coordinating effort “confusing and amateurish.”

After northern Taiwan was hit by a cold front, temperatures dipped to less than 10°C at night, with water temperatures falling to about 9°C, leaving many rescue workers cold and numb after prolonged immersion in the river.

Search crews complained that their equipment was inadequate to cope with the cold, and they were suffering from hypothermia.

Senior Taipei City Government officials responded by sending the requested equipment, with six gas heaters and two mobile shower units arriving at rest stations at the crash site by about 5pm yesterday.

Officials said they were also considering obtaining dry suits, which have an extra insulating dry layer to better keep out the cold.

Meanwhile, Taipei turned over command of the rescue efforts to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Ko said the transfer was to conform with national law, which states that the ministry was responsible for coordinating the response to air accidents.

Additional reporting by Abraham Gerber

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES