Two people were killed and a Canadian tourist was injured yesterday when an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale rocked eastern Taiwan, officials said.
The quake struck at 3:56pm, and was felt across the island. The quake was centered 7km west of the Hualien town of Hsincheng, the Central Weather Bureau said.
The quake had an intensity of 7 in Taroko, Hualien; 5 in Hualien City and Nanshan in Ilan County; 3 in Techi, Sun Moon Lake and Tsaoling in Yunlin County; 2 in Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Chiayi, Tainan and Ilan City; and 1 in Kaohsiung and Taichung City.
Visitors were stranded after a bridge collapsed in Taroko Gorge National Park. A Canadian tourist visiting the gorge was slightly hurt by a falling rock, they said.
Giant rocks loosened by the quake hit a truck on the Central Cross-Island Highway in the park area, crushing the vehicle and the two people inside it.
The victims were identified as Lai Hsiu-chuan (
Heavy rain and traffic jams made it difficult for rescue workers to reach the scene of the accident.
Falling rocks forced authorities to close the Central Cross-Island Highway as well as the coastal Suao-Hualian highway for a few hours.
Workers had begun removing debris from the road, allowing smaller vehicles to leave, but at least 22 buses were still reportedly unable to pass as of press time.
Taroko Gorge National Park spokesman Chu Li-ming (朱利明) advised drivers to avoid the two highways which could be prone to more falling rocks.
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