Taiwan's coast guard conducts a rescue operation after a Taiwanese gravel ship sank off the northeastern coast of the island.
Six crew members are dead and two missing.
The ship sent out a distress signal around two hours after setting sail, and started sinking when it was about nine nautical miles away from its port of departure.
Two of the dead are Taiwanese, and four Indonesian. Speaking from hospital, an injured Indonesian crew member says he does not know what caused the accident.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED CREW MEMBER SAYING:
"When the ship sinking, I only take my life jacket, so I run away, and then, so, I don't know anything at the time. Very lucky, my second engineer called me, if not call me maybe I am finished already."
The captain of the ship is one of those still missing. His family were waiting anxiously for news of his fate.
(SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CAPTAIN'S SON TUNG CHIA-HSING SAYING:
"He has a strong sense of responsibility. In our family, I am working but my younger siblings are still in school, so he has been working very hard to support the family."
Officials said an investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.
Nick Rowlands, Reuters.
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