Tourists rescued from collapsed hotel after city hit by powerful earthquake
At least two people died and more than 210 people were injured in a powerful earthquake in the Taiwanese east coast city of Hualien, which caused a hotel to partially collapse.
Several other buildings in the city were also damaged, including a residential block and a hospital.
The magnitude 6.4 tremor struck at 11.50pm local time about 12 miles off the island’s east coast.
One of the worst hit buildings was the 10-storey Marshal Hotel in the city, from where scores of tourists had to be rescued when the bottom two floors were crushed, leaving the building tilting on its side. Some local residents tweeted images of the destruction, such as the one below.
The Foreign Office is warning visitors to Hualien, which is popular with tourists as it’s close to the Taroko Gorge, to monitor alerts issued by the Central Weather Bureau and follow the advice of local authorities.
Some roads have cracked and the Taiwan government said two bridges in the city were either cracked or could not be used due to the quake.
There have been at least 15 aftershocks following the quake, Taiwan’s weather bureau said.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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