Forty-four people stranded in the mountainous Tiansiang (天祥) area of Hualien County following a massive earthquake that struck off the east coast on Wednesday were rescued yesterday morning, the Central Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) said.
They were among more than 400 people who have been stranded in the county after being cut off by landslides and other damage caused by the quake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, Taiwan’s strongest in 25 years.
The evacuees included people stranded in Tiansiang and at a hotel in Taroko National Park, while 59 teachers and students from Sibao Elementary School were to be evacuated from the mountain later in the day, the center said.
Photo courtresy of National Airborne Service Corps via CNA
A damaged section of road between Tiansiang and the entrance to Taroko Gorge reopened to traffic at about 8am yesterday, enabling police to escort the 44 people, 17 motor vehicles and two motorcycles out of Tiansiang two hours later, the Seventh Special Police Corps said in a statement.
Nine people trapped in the Datong (大同) and Dali (大禮) tribal areas in Sioulin Township (秀林) were airlifted from the mountainous area yesterday morning, it said.
Rescuers have stepped up efforts to find a Singaporean couple — who also hold Australian citizenship — reported missing after the earthquake, the CEOC said.
Photo courtesy of the Directorate General of Highways
Security footage showed that the missing couple on Wednesday morning boarded a shuttle bus heading to Taroko National Park and terminating at Tiansiang.
They were last seen in video footage exiting the bus at Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑步道) at about 7:20am, about 40 minutes before the quake struck, the center said.
Search-and-rescue personnel — including a team of seven Turkish rescuers who arrived in Taiwan on Saturday to assist in the rescue efforts — are searching possible routes the couple could have hiked in the area, it said.
Meanwhile, Greek national Dimitris Belbas guided 11 people to safety following the earthquake.
Belbas and two family members were hiking in Taroko Gorge when the quake struck, leaving them and nine other tourists stranded on the Baiyang Trail (白楊步道) because of landslides, a rescue team said.
A man — later identified as the son-in-law of the former Taiwanese ambassador to New Zealand, Tsai Erh-huang (蔡爾晃) — helped six adults climb over the rubble to safety.
Belbas later informed the police that a family of five remained trapped in the national park and subsequently joined the Seventh Special Police Corps of the National Police Agency to aid in the rescue effort.
In video footage released by the corps, Belbas and rescuers were seen using a rope ladder to escort the family, including three children, to safety.
As of 8am yesterday, 13 people had died, 1,133 had been injured and six people were missing since the earthquake struck at 7:58am on Wednesday.
At 6:01pm yesterday, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit off Hualien County, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The epicenter of the temblor was in the Pacific Ocean, 40.2km east-northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 16.9km, the agency said.
CWA official Ho Mei-yi (何美儀) told a news conference that Taiwan has experienced two aftershocks which registered at least 6 on the Richter scale and 25 which registered at least magnitude 5 since Wednesday.
As of 7:22pm yesterday, 710 aftershocks have been recorded, the CWA said.
However, Ho added that the frequency and magnitude of seismic activities since the Wednesday quake seem to be moderating.
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