Dangerous winds, waves bring abrupt halt to Yilan ocean swim in N. Taiwan

由於危險的風浪台灣宜蘭海上長泳被迫取消

Four people had to be rescued from ocean less than 1 hour after event began


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – This morning, Yilan County kicked off its annual Lanyang Ocean Swim to Gueishan Island (蘭陽海上長泳-迎向龜山), with 1,127 participants joining to make the ocean swim to the nearby island.

However, despite calm conditions before the start of the event at 8:30 a.m., winds and waves quickly turned dangerous after 9:00 a.m., forcing the fire department to call an abrupt halt to the event.

Most swimmers had been in the water less than 30 minutes, with the farthest only about 200 meters from shore when safety officials called off the swim. Rescue operations were launched at 9:12 a.m. for swimmers unable to get back to shore.

Four swimmers were rescued from the waves, but one of them, a 72 year old woman, surnamed Liang (梁) fell into a coma. She is now intubated at Saint Mary’s Hospital in nearby Luodong (羅東), with a coma scale of three, reports UDN.

CNA reports that a 51 year old male swimmer also lost consciousness briefly, but was revived after receiving first aid.

The event has been held without major incident for 14 years, and many swimmers were looking forward to this year’s swim as well. The distance to Gueishan Island, also known as "Turtle Island," and back is about 3 kilometers.

Yilan County officials told CNA that they were well prepared to deal with the sudden changes in weather, with 240 lifeguard and medical personnel on standby for the event, equipped with lifeguards on ambulance boats and jet skis.


Gueishan Island (Wikimedia Commons)