Taipei : Taiwan’s biggest earthquake in at least 25 years killed seven people on Wednesday, injuring more than 700, with 77 trapped in tunnels and collapsed buildings, authorities said, as rescuers used ladders to help some people descend to safety.
The 7.2 magnitude quake struck just offshore around 8 am (0000GMT), as people were headed for work and school, and was hit at a depth of 15.5 km (9.6 miles).
Fire authorities said about 60 of the roughly 77 trapped were caught in a tunnel just north of Hualien city, with two Germans among those trapped in another tunnel.
The government put the number of injured at 736.
Taiwan weather officials said the intensity of the earthquake in Hualien county was at the second-highest level of “Upper 6” on an intensity scale from 1 to 7.
“It was very strong. It felt as if the house was going to topple,” said Chang Yu-lin, 60, a worker in a hospital in Taipei, the capital.
