Rescue teams are scrambling to reach more than 100 people trapped under rubble in mines and a national park after the strongest earthquake in 25 years struck off the island of Taiwan.
Search operations around the worst-hit city of Hualien on the east coast are being hampered by more than 50 aftershocks on Wednesday, April 3. According to the Central Taiwan Meteorological Administration (CWA), aftershocks of magnitude 6.5 to 7 are expected to occur over the next four days.
Approximately 80 people are trapped in the mining areas. It is not known whether they were in the mine during the earthquake.
Also, about 50 hotel workers were stranded in Taroko National Park after their convoy of four minibuses was trapped on a mountain road by a landslide. According to cell phone signals, they may have taken refuge in the Jiuqi cave system. Rescue services are trying to clear the way to reach them. Local media reports that three tourists and one driver died in the park after the landslides.
On the morning of Wednesday, April 3, Taiwan was hit by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake. The epicenter was recorded at a depth of 15.5 km near Hualien, a city popular with tourists on the island's east coast.
According to the latest data, nine people died as a result of the tragedy, and about a thousand were injured.
