The number of people confirmed dead after Wednesday’s massive earthquake has risen to 13 following the discovery of a woman in Hualien County yesterday and the confirmation of two bodies found on Friday, the Central Emergency Operations Center said, as rescuers continued to airlift trapped people in Hualien County.
The three deceased were among six people reported missing on Taroko National Park’s Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑).
The body of a 21-year-old woman surnamed Hu (胡), who traveled to Hualien alone, was found at the 0.5km mark on the trail at about 11am yesterday. An identification card was found on her body.
Photo: Suo Takekuma, Kyodo News via AP
It was earlier believed that the body could be that of another woman, who, along with her husband, surnamed Yu (游), and three children, were on the trail at the time of the quake.
Rescue personnel found the two other bodies on the trail on Friday, but they were not included in the official death toll until yesterday.
Yu’s mother said they were her son and 11-year-old granddaughter, but they have not been formally identified.
Photo courtesy of the Hualien Fire Department
Yu’s wife, eight-year-old son and five-year-old daughter could be buried more than 25m below the trail, rescue personnel said, adding that aftershocks and inclement weather have affected the rescue mission.
As of 2:30pm yesterday, 13 people had died and 1,145 were injured in the earthquake, while 405 were trapped or stranded and six were missing, data released by the center showed.
As of 10am — 74 hours after the temblor, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale and magnitude 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale — the Central Weather Administration had recorded 603 aftershocks, including 23 that were magnitude 5 or greater.
The aftershocks have loosened earth, causing rocks to continue falling intermittently.
Demolition of a building in Hualien City that was leaning precariously after the quake was also halted, because of aftershocks that caused it to lean further.
Meanwhile, National Airborne Service Corps helicopters flew to areas that had been cut off near Taroko National Park to airlift stranded people.
“Priority was given to the elderly, the weak, women, children and people with chronic diseases,” news Web site ET Today reported. “Although everyone was tired after coming down the mountain, they were all still smiling.”
One airlift brought people from the luxury Silks Place Taroko (太魯閣晶英酒店) hotel, where more than 400 tourists and staff had been stranded.
Rescuers also airdropped boxes of food and supplies to a group of students, teachers and residents at an inaccessible elementary school.
Elsewhere, engineers were working around the clock to clear massive boulders from roads and tunnel entrances.
Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said that Taiwan would bolster its rescue operations by working with a team of experts from Turkey.
Seven Turkish rescuers arrived in Taiwan last night and brought with them drone technology to assist in the rescue efforts due to the challenging terrain in the area, said Lin, who also heads the Central Emergency Operation Center.
Other than the drones, local rescue capabilities and resources are plentiful, he said, adding that the Turkish team is the only foreign rescue team Taiwan has accepted technical assistance from.
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
RSS