Latest news with #TaiwaneseCoastGuard
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Family offers $50,000 reward for information as University of Oklahoma student vanishes in Taiwan
The family of a University of Oklahoma student who went missing while on vacation in Taiwan has offered a $50,000 reward after officials reportedly called off their search. Diego Dorantes Sanchez, 23, vanished from Da Bai Sha beach on Green Island at about 12.15 p.m. local time on Friday, according to his family. The anthropology student from Hidalgo, Mexico, was snorkelling with three friends off the small volcanic island, branded 'snorkelers' paradise' for its vibrant coral reefs, which is situated about 20 miles east of the main island. Sanchez's friends, along with several snorkelers and scuba divers who were present near the group, began their search at about 1 p.m. after realizing the student had disappeared, the family told OU Daily, the University of Oklahoma's student newspaper. The Taiwanese Coast Guard was alerted, but adverse weather conditions delayed search efforts, the family said. Sanchez's family told the student newspaper that the agency conducted its search limited to Green Island. However, experts assisting in the search, who have analyzed possible drift paths, believe Sanchez could be near Yonaguni and Ishigaki, two small Japanese islands in Okinawa Prefecture, approximately 150 miles northeast of Green Island. Friends and family called for cross-national cooperation between Taiwanese and Japanese officials and local communities to begin coordinated search and rescue efforts. 'We urge everyone with access to these areas to please search and report anything that may help,' the family said. While friend Natalia Fabry told KOCO News: 'If you can please go to your shores and look for anyone who may be waiting for rescue. If you have a boat or you're a sailor or fisherman, if you're a diver, if you have a helicopter, anything, anyone, please help us.' However, officials concluded their search for Sanchez on Monday, according to an update posted by friend Luis Castro on a GoFundMe page set up to support the search efforts for the missing student. Sanchez's family, who are now in Taiwan, is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to his location, according to the fundraising page. '+72 hours have passed since Diego was reported missing,' read an update posted Monday. 'Therefore, Taiwanese government has stopped the thorough search. Diego's family has decided to offer a $50,000 reward (group of people, organization, government, anyone) to intensify the search. His family has reached Taiwan.' The Independent has contacted the Taiwanese Coast Guard for more information.
The Independent
27-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Taiwan Navy ship crashes into Chinese fishing boat amid tensions
A Taiwanese Navy ship and a Chinese fishing boat collided in waters off central Taiwan on Thursday amid heightened tensions between the two armies. The Taiwanese Navy said its landing ship, Chung Ho, collided with the Chinese trawler Minlianyu 61756 just after midnight on Thursday. No injuries were reported in the collision, which occurred 45 nautical miles (83km) off Taiwan's Taichung port – the island's second-largest port located on the Taiwan Strait – and nine nautical miles outside of "restricted waters," the navy said in a statement. The damage sustained during the incident did not affect the ship's "safety of navigation", the navy added. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the collision and responsibility for the incident. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of the mainland and has not ruled out using force to achieve reunification. However, Taiwan rejects Beijing's claims, sees itself as distinct from China, and has accused the mainland government of intimidation. A series of recent maritime incidents along the narrow waterway separating Taiwan and China has heightened diplomatic tensions. In August 2024, three Chinese crew members on a fishing boat went missing after colliding with an unidentified vessel about 6.5 nautical miles (12km) off the coast of the Kinmen Islands. It followed a fatal incident between a Chinese boat and the Taiwanese army on 14 February in the same year kicked off a diplomatic wrangling between Taipei and Beijing. A Chinese fishing vessel capsized near Taiwan's Kinmen Island during a pursuit by the Taiwanese Coast Guard for alleged trespassing in restricted waters, resulting in the deaths of two Chinese fishermen. The two survivors were detained and later deported. Taiwan has identified 2027 as a potential timeframe for a full-scale Chinese invasion in its largest annual defence drills. The Taiwanese defence ministry unveiled the timeline in documents released on Tuesday when lawmakers and officials were briefed on the upcoming largest war games simulating an attack by the Chinese military on the annual calendar of Taiwanese forces.
