Dozens rescued after major Taiwan quake but more than 100 still cut off
Rescue teams Thursday were trying to reach more than 100 people trapped overnight in eastern Taiwan following the strongest earthquake to hit the island in decades, as the number of people injured passed 1,000, CNN reports.
Aftershocks continued to rattle the island a day after the 7.4 magnitude quake struck just south of Hualien County, the worst-affected region, killing at least nine people, buckling buildings and triggering landslides.
Taiwanese officials warned aftershocks as high as magnitude 7 could continue until the end of the week.
Hualien resident Hong Changyi told CNN that his liquor store was in one of the buildings felled by the quake.
For such a large quake, the death toll remains relatively low and damage appears limited. As well as nine people dead, 1,050 were injured with 46 missing or uncontactable. There were 101 people still trapped or stranded with rescue operations ongoing, according to Taiwan’s National Fire Agency.
While dozens of people were rescued overnight, authorities said efforts are focused on the more than 60 stranded in a quarry in Hualien, as well as reaching those cut off in surrounding mountain gorges, a tourist destination popular with hikers.
