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Military mechanist in missing F-16 unit dies in suspected suicide

ROC Central News Agency

11/23/2020 01:49 PM

Taipei, Nov. 23 (CNA) The chief mechanist in an Air Force unit, from which an F-16 and its pilot went missing almost a week ago, was pronounced dead at a military hospital Sunday evening after allegedly committing suicide.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed local media reports that the chief mechanist, surnamed Huang (黃), "hurt himself" at a military barracks, in a press statement.

Huang was taken to Hualien Armed Forces General Hospital after being found unresponsive in the barracks, but doctors failed to revive him, according to the MND statement.

According to local media reports, Huang served in the 26th Tactical Fighter Group of the 5th Tactical Fighter Wing, the same unit as the missing F-16 and its pilot, with some suggesting the two incidents are connected.

The ill-fated F-16, tail number 6672, disappeared from radar screens at 6:07 p.m. on Nov. 17 over waters east of Taiwan, two minutes after taking off from Hualien Air Base.

The aircraft and its pilot remain missing as of Monday morning, with search operations ongoing.

A local report said Huang asked his roommate to buy dinner for him. On returning the latter found the door to the barracks locked from the inside.

In the same statement, the MND indicated that Huang was in charge of ground equipment and had no direct connection to the F-16.

The press statement added that the MND has sent officers to comfort Huang's family and will cooperate with investigators to determine the cause of the incident.

The MND also said it will step up counseling in all military units to prevent similar incidents.

In July, Navy Lieutenant Commander Yang (楊) was found hanged in his room at Kaohsiung Zuoying naval base. He was one of the supervisors of a Navy anti-landing drill which went wrong and claimed the lives of three Marines.

At the time, navy officers declined to speculate whether Yang's suicide was related to the fatal military exercise.

(By Lee Hsien-feng and Emerson Lim)

Enditem/AW