Blaze sinks floating dormitory

TAIWANESE rescuers in helicopters and dinghies saved 133 Chinese fishermen from a burning boat yesterday as a tropical storm whipped up high seas and gales, a coast guard official said.

One fisherman was missing.

Flames shot out of the vessel's engine room as rescue crews raced to pull the men out of the boat before it sank in the rough waters near the southern port of Kaohsiung.

The morning operation lasted four hours, and much of it was shown live on cable television news stations.

Coast guard spokesman Chang Yu-shih said investigators were looking into the possibility that the fire was caused "by the boat's engine or that it could have spread after wires on the boat short-circuited".

Mr Chang said that 133 fishermen were rescued, but one was missing.

The man apparently fell into the rough seas before the rescue operation began, he said.

The boat was a floating dormitory for Chinese men who work for Taiwanese fishing companies, but do not have visas to leave the port or stay on land.

The fishermen huddled in the front of the boat as the vessel belched thick, black smoke.

Two navy Blackhawk helicopters hovered above, lowering lines and pulling up the men. Some of the men jumped into the water and swam to rubber, motorized dinghies. Others strapped on lifejackets dropped by the helicopters.

Rescue workers had to battle winds of up to 40mph and waves stirred up by approaching tropical storm Nakri.

One rescued fisherman complained to ETTV cable news that the coast guard moved too slowly.

"From the time that we called, it took about an hour for them to arrive," he said.

But a coast guard spokesman, who was not named, told ETTV in an interview that rescuers moved as fast as they could in the rough seas.

"There could not have been a delay," he said.

"I don't know when the fire started, but we got called at 8:30 and that's when the first boat went out."

Five fishermen were taken to a hospital in Kaohsiung, most with minor injuries, Mr Chang said. One fisherman was being treated for smoke inhalation, he said.

Taiwanese fishing companies frequently hire Chinese because they work for lower wages than Taiwanese. But most have to live in the floating dormitories because of Taiwan's strict immigration regulations for citizens of China.

Taiwan's relations with China have been tense since the rivals split during civil war in 1949.

China has threatened to attack Taiwan and the island, and leaders from the two sides have not met in five decades.