《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Three die, three missing in river tracing tragedy

DEADLY DOWNPOUR: Six adults and two children were washed away near the Tainiu Bridge when tracing the Tainiuliao River, fire department officials said

/ Staff Writer, with CNA

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Eight out of 24 people taking part in a river tracing trip in New Taipei City yesterday were washed away by surging water, the New Taipei City Fire Department said.

As of press time last night, two had been rescued, three had been found dead and three were still missing.

Six adults and two children, all of whom were wearing life vests and helmets, were washed away near the Tainiu Bridge when tracing the Tainiuliao River （?牛寮橋） in New Taipei City’s mountainous Pinglin District （坪林）, the department said.

The department dispatched 41 vehicles and three rescue units to the scene, and the Ministry of National Defense and the National Airborne Service Corps dispatched helicopters to help with the search-and-rescue efforts.

New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu （朱立倫） went to a temporary operations center set up at the 48km mark of provincial highway No. 9 to oversee the rescue operations.

The Central Weather Bureau issued a heavy rain alert for a large part of Taiwan yesterday, including New Taipei City, which it said would see 10cm of rain in a three-hour period and 20cm in 24 hours.

The bureau’s observation points in mountainous districts recorded up to 14.9cm of rainfall from midnight on Saturday to 3:30pm yesterday.

In a separate incident yesterday, seven men and three women hiking a trail by a creek in Chiayi County’s Meishan Township （梅山） were trapped by rising creek water at about noon.

All of them were rescued, the Chiayi County Fire Department said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES