A total of 66 tourists who were trapped by a flooded river in Qingshui Geothermal Park in northeastern Taiwan on Sunday were successfully evacuated, rescuers said Sunday evening.
The Yilan County Fire Bureau said it received a call for help at 8:44 a.m. from a group of 43 people camping by the Qingshui Creek who were trapped at the campground due to the rising river level after days of heavy rain.
The bureau sent a rescue team to the site and found another group of 23 people trapped nearby, whom they helped leave on foot at around 1 p.m.
As for the first group, the bureau originally suggested that they move to higher ground and wait until the flood waters receded, believing that the situation was under control and the campers had enough food and water.
The bureau later changed its mind, however, fearing more rain in the evening, and it used two excavators to evacuate the group between 3:12 p.m. and 6:22 p.m.
According to the Central Weather Bureau, the region had accumulated 300 millimeters of rainfall between midnight Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday due to strong northeasterly winds.
Forecasters cautioned that the rain could last into early Monday.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel