Fishing boat sinks after fire off Taiwan; all 6 crew rescued

Fishing boat sinks after fire off Taiwan; all 6 crew rescued, according to Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA). The Taiwan-registered Yung Fu No. 188 caught fire late Tuesday off Pengjia Islet, northeast of Taiwan, and sank early Wednesday after the crew abandoned ship. The CGA received the report at about 3 a.m. Wednesday that the fire began in the cabin around 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) northeast of Pengjia Islet, spreading rapidly. All six crew members—one Taiwanese captain, Lin, and five Filipino crewmen—were rescued after nearly 10 hours adrift in a life raft. CGA said its Bali patrol vessel arrived around 4 a.m. with thick smoke visible and located the raft nearby before bringing everyone aboard safely. The vessel attempted firefighting but, severely damaged by blaze and flooding, sank at about 5 a.m. The CGA noted the ship carried about 2 metric tons of fuel, with a 30-meter-long by 2-meter-wide fuel slick observed, and a second patrol boat dispatched to monitor pollution. The fire’s cause remains under investigation.