Taiwan, PHL give different figures on hurt, missing Filipinos in bridge collapse



Filipinos were among the several foreign workers who were hurt and missing after a steel arch bridge in eastern Taiwan collapsed on Tuesday, officials from Taipei and the Philippines said.
Philippine and Taiwan authorities, however, gave different figures on the Filipinos affected by the accident.
Taiwan's Foreign Office said six Filipinos were injured and 3 others were missing.
Apart from Filipinos, three workers from Indonesia were also injured and another three were feared missing.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already informed respective representative offices of these countries, and relayed condolences and concerns," an unofficial translation of Taiwan's statement said.
For its part, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, the Philippines' de-facto embassy in Taiwan, initially said only four Filipinos were injured and two were reported missing.
MECO chief Lito Banayo, in a Super Radyo dzBB interview, said three Filipinos were treated for minor injuries, one is still in the hospital, and two were missing.
Banayo would later update the figures, in a separate interview on GMA News TV's QRT, saying the number of hurt Filipinos went up to five, and the missing Filipinos were now three.
The five injured Filipinos have already been released from the hospital after sustaining only minor injuries.
Banayo said Taiwanese authorities have yet to pull the supposedly trapped Filipinos from one of the fishing vessels due to logistical problems in lifting the bridge from the river.
“Halos pitong oras na sila nakalubog,” he said. “Kasi no’ng bumagsak ang tulay, naipit ‘yung barko, ‘yung fishing vessel. Lumubog ‘yun all the way down sa ilalim ng river bed, so ‘yun ang problema. Hindi naman maiangat dahil napakabigat no’ng tulay.”
The bridge, a popular tourist attraction in Suao, Yilan, collapsed at around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday while an oil truck was driving through it under harsh winds and strong rains brought by Typhoon Mitag the night before.
The collapsed bridge and the vehicle crushed several boats in the fishing harbor below.
“Malakas masyado ang hangin kagabi mula 10:30 p.m. hanggang 2 a.m. Napakalakas ng hangin at ulan, so siyempre nagpuntahan ‘yung mga nasa laot [habang] maaga pa sa ilog at doon nag-seek ng shelter,” Banayo said.
However, the MECO chairman said it was also possible that the three missing Filipinos are not inside the vessel after all.
“Posible rin kasi, halimbawa, nasa fishing vessel nga sila, pwede rin naman na no’ng gabi, hindi sila bumalik doon sa fishing vessel. So ‘yung sinasabi sating tatlong Pinoy [nawawala] ay ayon ‘yun sa may-ari ng barko, base sa kanyang [listahan] ng mga missing pa. Tatlong Indonesian, tatlong Pilipino,” he said.
Banayo said the MECO is prepared to offer assistance to the Filipinos affected by the collapse.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing for possible survivors, Taiwan officials said. — with Julia Mari Ornedo/MDM, GMA News

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