CGTN America
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake jolted waters near Hualien County of Taiwan at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).
The death toll stood at six as of 8:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday with at least 258 others injured in the strong, 6.5-magnitude earthquake, Taiwan’s emergency operation center said in a statement.
The statement said 67 people were still unaccounted for.
The head of Hualien Tzu Chi General Hospital said that six injured tourists from the Chinese mainland are being treated in the hospital, one of whom suffered a severe foot injury while the other is in critical condition.
The Hualian bridge has also been damaged.
Images and videos circulating on social media show emergency responders searching and helping people out of buildings.
An after-shock hit the same area shortly after.
The epicenter was monitored at 24.13 degrees north latitude and 121.71 degrees east longitude, the center said in a statement.
The quake struck at a depth of 11 km.
Port city Hualien is one of Taiwan’s most popular tourist hubs as it lies on the picturesque east coast rail line and is near to popular Taroko Gorge.
Taiwan’s worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed about 2,400 people.
Facebook live by Shude Shang from Hualian City.
Ross Feingold reports on the earthquake that struck Taiwan’s Hualien City
CGTN’s Mike Walter spoke with Ross Feingold, a senior adviser with DC International Advisory, who was a witness to Tuesday 6.5 earthquake that shook Taiwan’s Hualien City.
Taiwan earthquake witness describes magnitude 6.5 quake in Hualien
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck about 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Hualien, Taiwan, killing at least two people and injuring more than 200. Emergency crews rushed to a partially collapsed hotel, while others cleaned up boulders that crashed across highways. Orrin Hoopman, an American ex-pat living in Hualien, described what he felt to CGTN’s Elaine Reyes.
Story by CGTN with some information by Xinhua and AFP.
