Taiwan fishing vessel feared captured by pirates

Taiwan says it fears a Taiwanese fishing boat may have been hijacked by pirates off the Somali coast.

The Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the island lost contact with the 79-ton Jih-chun Tsai 68 fishing trawler the day before.

The ministry said it came to believe the vessel might have been captured when a trawler that appeared to be Taiwanese launched an attack on another Taiwanese fishing boat off the Somali coast. That second fishing vessel has managed to escape to safety, the government-owned Central News Agency reported.

The ministry says it has asked the U.S. and Britain for help.

Pirate attacks have continued to climb despite the presence of around 35 warships from various nations patrolling the waters off of lawless Somalia.