Rescue efforts continue for more than 100 people trapped after the earthquake that shook Taiwan

Emergency teams continue the rescue efforts of more than one hundred people who are still trapped, after the strong earthquake that shook the east coast of Taiwan on Wednesday, April 2, which so far left nine dead and more than 1,000 injured.

According to the latest data from the Emergency Response Center cited by the state news agency CNA, the earthquake caused a total of 2,471 incidents of varying magnitude across the island; most of them in the eastern county of Hualien, the ‘ground zero’ of the earthquake.

Strongest earthquake since 1999

The authorities are working to search for 147 people who are trapped or cut off by the multiple rockfalls recorded after the earthquake, the strongest that Taiwan has suffered since 1999.

Around 65 people remain stranded in mining areas of Hualien, although it has not yet been possible to determine whether they were inside or outside the mines at the time of the earthquake.

Rescue teams managed to save six people who were rescued on the morning of Thursday, April 4, by helicopter in the Hejen mining region.

Hotel employees and tourists remain trapped

Likewise, 47 hotel employees and 24 tourists remain trapped around a cave in Taroko National Park, although drone images suggest that most of them are out of danger.

The number of people injured by the earthquake has risen to 1,050 in the last few hours, while the number of deaths – five women and four men – has not changed.

The island’s president-elect and current vice president, William Lai (Lai Ching-te), visited Hualien County, noting that the central government has already allocated $300 million Taiwan dollars ($9.37 million) to local authorities to facilitate reconstruction and relief efforts.

The earthquake, whose magnitude was 7.2 according to the Central Meteorological Agency (CWA) of Taiwan and 7.4 according to the United States Geological Survey, occurred at 7:58 on Wednesday (23:58 GMT on Tuesday ) in the sea, specifically 25 kilometers southeast of Hualien.

This earthquake is the most intense that Taiwan has suffered since September 21, 1999, when a magnitude 7.6 tremor killed 2,416 people.

Taiwan sits at the confluence of the Philippine and Eurasian plates, so earthquakes are frequent on the island.

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