Taiwan News reports that smoke was detected on a warship of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) while it was undergoing repairs at a shipyard on Taiwan's East China Sea coast earlier this week.
Eyewitnesses said they saw smoke begin billowing from the ROCN guided-missile destroyer ROCS Ma Kong shortly after 14:00 local time on Wednesday, April 23.
ROCN officials said all personnel who were on the ship at the time were immediately evacuated as firefighters arrived on-scene to render assistance.
No injuries have been reported.
The navy later clarified that the smoke was caused by carelessness during repairs. Officials did not provide additional details other than the fact that the smoke was not the result of an onboard fire.
Ma Kong was originally built as USS Chandler, the final one of four Kidd-class destroyers that were operated by the US Navy from the early 1980s to the late 1990s.
All four Kidd-class ships were sold to Taiwan in May 2003 and were eventually commissioned into service with the ROCN.