Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor: Alex Cope, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Video Credit: AsiaWire
This is the moment a van carrying nine people – including children aged seven and two – rolls down a slipway before plunging into the sea and sinking in a matter of seconds.
The accident happened at Hongchaikeng Harbor in the township of Hengchun, which is home to a popular beach resort Kenting in South Taiwan’s Pingtung County.
CCTV footage dated 25th August shows the black van – carrying a family which included among others two pensioners aged 68 and 69; and two children aged two and seven – having been parked on top of the slipway.
It suddenly begins rolling towards the choppy sea, and the driver, who was preparing to step out of the car, tries in vain to stop the van using his foot.
Video Credit: AsiaWire
But the van crashes into the side of the slipway, causing him to fall out.
In the video, two female passengers – including a mother and her toddler – also tumble out of the open sliding door on the other side, leaving the rest plunging into the sea.
Fishermen, as well as members of the duty coastguard, can be seen diving into the sea to rescue the van’s occupants as the vehicle sinks beneath the surface of the waves in a matter of seconds.
Video of the rescue provided by Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council shows members of the Tsai family being brought to safety by the coastguard.
According to the authorities, all nine people including the driver, who is not a member of the family, were taken to Nan Men General Hospital for treatment.
None was in any life-threatening condition.
Reports have revealed that the Tsai family were visiting Kenting National Park on holiday.
Among them were a couple aged 68 and 69, two children aged two and seven, as well as three men and two women between the ages of 36 and 39.
The cause of the accident is still being investigated.
It is unclear whether the driver had remembered to put on the handbrake when parking.
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