A Taiwanese student is still missing five days after a deadly earthquake that struck New Zealand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported yesterday, adding that it has not been authorized by the missing student’s family to provide additional information.
Ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said that since the temblor occurred on Tuesday, the ministry has maintained close contact with the family of the missing student and has worked to locate the student by going to her home in Christchurch, the epicenter of the magnitude 6.3 earthquake.
According to a Taiwanese news network, the missing student is a female surnamed Lee (李) who worked as a nurse prior to going to New Zealand.
Lee’s mother told television reports that her daughter had saved many people in the past and hopes she, too, might be rescued soon.
Radio New Zealand reported that as of yesterday, the death toll from the quake had risen to 146, with more than 200 people still unaccounted for. Additionally, local police fear not all the dead will be identified.
Police Superintendent Dave Cliff said a large number of overseas tourists and residents now in New Zealand had been reported missing, but are most likely safe.
He reiterated his plea for overseas visitors to contact their families or the Red Cross to confirm they are alive.
Search and rescue teams from all parts of the world, including Taiwan, arrived in Christchurch soon after Tuesday’s magnitude 6.3 earthquake and are still scouring the rubble of collapsed buildings, local news media reported.
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