Taiwan earthquake death toll rises to 13, aftershocks hamper rescue operations

crumbling building after demolition earthquake in Taiwan Media reports said it was suspended on Saturday as aftershocks tilted it further.

The roughly 10-story red building leaning against a street in Hualien City has become an iconic image of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that also buried people under boulders in nearby Taroko National Park. The national park is a popular hiking destination and is approximately 25 kilometers (15 km) away. miles) northwest of Hualien.

The death toll rose to 13 after a third victim was found on the park’s Shakadang Trail. Six other people are still missing, three of them on the same road. Three days after the earthquake, more than 400 people are still trapped in an area cut off by damage. Most are in hotels in Taroko Park.

Since an earthquake struck Taiwan’s east coast on Wednesday morning, the region has been rocked by hundreds of aftershocks, including a magnitude 5.2 quake that struck shortly before noon on Saturday.

Survivors told harrowing stories of rocks rolling onto the road, trapping them in tunnels until rescuers arrived to free them.

The death toll from the powerful quake was relatively low, thanks to strict building standards and an extensive public education campaign on the earthquake-prone island.This earthquake is Taiwan’s strongest earthquake since a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in 1999 Killed 2,400 people.

Rescue workers are planning to bring in heavy equipment to try to recover two bodies trapped under boulders on the Shakadang Trail. Three people died and three people disappeared on the road, including a family of five. Search and recovery efforts were called off Friday afternoon due to aftershocks.

A Hualien City official said experts will discuss how to proceed with the demolition of the sloping tower. The offering was made at a ceremony held before demolition began the day before.