51 Perish in WWII Taiwan Tragedy! Director Wei Te-sheng to Film 'Sanchashan Incident,' Trekking Mountain Path to Find Plane Wreckage

At the end of World War II, Japan was transporting prisoners of war back to their home countries. However, a transport plane carrying liberated American POWs from Okinawa to the Philippines crashed in Sanchashan, Taiwan, resulting in 51 deaths, including rescue personnel. Director Wei Te-sheng plans to turn this poignant chapter of Taiwan's WWII history into a film and on the 6th personally trekked the original rescue mountain path with his art team to search for aircraft wreckage.

On the 6th, Wei Te-sheng, accompanied by his art team, Hsu Shun-lung (Chairman of the Sanchashan Volunteer Memorial Committee), descendants of the rescuers who died during the original operation—including Li Kuang-hsiang, current mayor of Yuehmei Village in Guanshan Township—and staff from the Taitung Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency under Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture, followed the original rescue team's route toward the wreckage site.

Wei Te-sheng (front left 4) preparing to film a new movie, trekked the historic rescue path with descendants of the Sanchashan incident on the 6th to search for aircraft wreckage. (Central News Agency)

In an interview, Wei Te-sheng said the journey to the actual site is too remote for practical filming, but it's essential to understand the route to identify potential alternative locations and simulate the environment in studio sets. Thus, he brought his art team to document the terrain, environments, and distinctive landmarks along the way.

Representing the victims' families, Li Kuang-hsiang said that among the 26 rescuers who perished, one was his grandfather. He had never personally visited the site before, but always told himself, 'I must go see my grandfather.' For him, this journey holds deep personal significance, and he hopes all members of the expedition return safely.

Wei Te-sheng (front left 3) brought his art team on the 6th, accompanied by descendants of the original rescuers and staff from the Ministry of Agriculture's Guanshan Workstation, trekking the mountain path to locate aircraft wreckage. (Central News Agency)

The group followed the original rescue route: Jhimaosi Mountain → Meichi → Jiaming Lake → Grassland → Lakuyin Creek, surveying the aircraft wreckage. They are scheduled to reach the wreckage site on the 8th and descend from Sanchashan via Jiaming Lake and Xiangyang Lodge on the 9th.

In August 1945, one month after the end of WWII, a bomber transporting American and Allied POWs held by Japan crashed near Sanchashan in the Central Mountain Range. The aircraft carried 11 Americans, 4 Dutch, 5 Australians, and 5 crew members—25 people in total—all of whom perished.

Subsequently, rescuers from Guanshancun (now Guanshan Township) included 12 Amis, 1 Hoklo, 1 Hakka, 1 Pingpu, 1 Bunun, 1 Puyuma, 2 Japanese police officers, and 7 Japanese military police, totaling 26 who died during the rescue mission.