Monday, 23 December 2024
Monday, 23 December 2024
Taiwan's biggest earthquake in at least 25 years killed seven people, injuring more than 700, with 77 trapped in tunnels and collapsed buildings, authorities said, as rescuers used ladders to help some people descend to safety. Television broadcast images of buildings tilted at precarious angles in the mountainous, sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien, near the epicentre of the 7.2 magnitude quake, which struck just offshore at about 8 a. m. (0000GMT).
The quake hit at a depth of 15.5 km (9.6 miles), just as people were headed for work and school, setting off a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines that was later lifted. "It was very strong. It felt as if the house was going to topple," said Chang Yu-lin, 60, a worker in a hospital in Taipei, the capital.
Members of a search and rescue team prepare to deploy on a Taiwan Air Force C-130 from southern Taiwan's Pingtung military air base en route for Hualien. Fire authorities said about 60 of the roughly 77 trapped were caught in a tunnel just north of Hualien city, with two Germans among those trapped in another tunnel.
Residents rescue a child from a partially collapsed building in Hualien. Video showed rescuers using ladders to help trapped people out of windows, while elsewhere there were massive landslides, as strong tremors in Taipei forced the subway system to close briefly, although most lines resumed service.
The government put the number of injured at 736. Most power has been restored after the quake, electricity utility Taipower said, with the island's two nuclear power stations unaffected.
Aftershocks could still be felt in Taipei, with more than 50 recorded, weather officials said. The official central news agency said the quake was the biggest since one of magnitude 7.6 in 1999 that killed about 2,400 people and damaged or destroyed 50,000 buildings.
