Taiwan searches for 18 still missing after earthquake

HUALIEN, Taiwan - Taiwanese rescuers looked for 18 people still missing on Friday (April 5) after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the island's mountainous and scenic east coast, as dozens of aftershocks rattled the disaster zone and those cut off were gradually taken to safety.

Wednesday's earthquake in Taiwan's sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien killed 10 people, leaving hundreds of people stranded in a national park as boulders barrelled down mountains, cutting off roads.

Taiwan's fire department put the number of people still missing at 18, including four foreigners previously listed as being Indian, Canadian and Australian whose location it said was unknown.

Another six people are missing on a hiking trail, and a 45-person rescue team is trying to reach them, it added.

Rescuers have confirmed that around 400 people cut off at a luxury hotel in the Taroko Gorge national park are safe, and has been helicoptering in supplies and taking out those injured.

"We're assessing the possibility of rain today, so our search and rescue colleagues will be equipped with rain gear. However, rain increases the risks of rockfalls and landslides, which are currently the biggest challenges we face," said Su Yu-ming, captain of the Kaohsiung city search and rescue team.

"These factors are unpredictable, which means we cannot confirm the number of days required for the search and rescue operations at this time."

A group of 50 workers who were on their way to the hotel and had been trapped on roads are now mostly safe.

"I am lucky to survive this disaster. We were terrified, especially when the earthquake first happened, we thought it was all over, all over, all over, because it was an earthquake, right?" said David Chen, 63, a