Taiwan is surrounded by water. The coastline is as long as 1,820km including the remote islands. As an effort for the development of the country’s ocean policy, the government has been promoting “ocean recreation,”“blue highways” and “fishing port tourism.” As a result, the recreational activities related to coasts and ocean start booming, along with accidents occurring at the coasts and in ports. There are lots of fishing boats working in ports or at surrounding waters. When an accident occurs at rough sea, the stranded or the boat is drifting on the surface, and the visibility is poor for rescuers due to the rough surface or poor weathers, making it difficult to spot the stranded or drifting boat. However, aerial search and rescue with a helicopter at sea really helps to reduce the search time.
To improve the preparation for disaster prevention and rescue at sea and in the air, refine the professional skills of the frontline personnel, and enhance the disaster prevention and rescue capacity and response capability, the National Airborne Service Corps, MOI dispatched the AS-365s and UH-1Hs of Squadrons 1 and 2, 1st Wing (stationed at Songshan Airport) to join the coast Guard Administration for the “2016 helicopter lifting and descend/ascend training) from Dec 5 to 30. Live aircrafts were deployed to simulate possible scenarios that may happen on the open waters, which helps the air crew with the special professional skills used in rescue missions at sea, brings out the best of aerial reconnaissance capacity, helps them develop rescue knowledge, skills and flight safety concepts, and familiarize themselves with survival gears, knowledge and skills at sea.
For example, on Jan 23 2016, a Chinese fishing boat (the Zheng Yuan Yu 818) was aground just off the mouth of Budai Port, Chiayi. The sea was rough that day. The condition was grim for all four fishermen on board as the boat started to take on water. Jun 17 of the same year, the SuperStar Aquarius was cruising just offshore of Keelung. A male passenger suddenly felt sick as his blood pressure started to drop. On Jul 13, a young boy found that he was unable to swim back to shore as he was playing at the beach at Renho, Hualien with his friends, and started screaming for help. His friends panicked and called for help. Upon receiving these calls for help, the Corps deploys immediately the appropriate fleet and aircraft for the job. These are just some of the missions performed jointly by the air crew of the Corps and Coast Guard rescue specialists.
Establish rescue capacity across multiple agencies, integrate the joint performance in the air and at sea, bring the emergency rescue energy in full play at the first available time, effectively improve disaster prevention and rescue capacity and response capability, and ensure people’s life and property at. That is the responsibility people are counting on us to take.