River Accidents in Taiwan
Taiwan’s rivers are a haven for water sports throughout the year. Between river tracing, canyoning, pack rafting, whitewater kayaking, and river camping, more than a dozen river trips occur daily in Taiwan. Furthermore, over the past several years, the rapid growth of canyoning has contributed to the increasing frequency of river accidents in Taiwan.
While the government’s official statistics keep track of deaths by drowning, this is not a useful metric because it includes the deaths of non-swimmers who accidentally fall into the water. Also, they do not make accident reports publicly available, making learning and reflection difficult for the rest of the community.
The purpose of this database is to serve as a central resource for tracking and analyzing whitewater accidents relating to river mountaineering, including river tracing and canyoning.
About the Database
Database Structure
The Taiwan River Accident Database tracks river mountaineering – including canyoning and river tracing – accidents reported to the community going as far back as 2000. The database currently only tracks river tracing accidents and canyoning accidents.
Database Philosophy
By making these accident reports accessible, we hope to cultivate a culture of openness, transparency, and altruism. The editors of the database believe that openly documenting accidents contributes to the greater good of the recreational community.
Detailed Accident Reports
Links to public incident reports are included when available. The English translations of these reports can be found in the Accident Reports archive.
Explore the Database
Learn from the mistakes of others.
Build an understanding of dangers faced in rivers and discover potential solutions.
Serious mountaineering accidents can result in resource-intensive multi-day search and rescue missions. These are not always successful. Being aware of what can go wrong, and understanding how scenarios unfold can increase your own safety and the safety of those around you.
The database is managed by 李麒安 & Canyons Taiwan
