A 7.7 magnitude earthquake killed four and dozens injured amid landslides and collapsed buildings in Taiwan.
The quake struck close to the popular tourist city of Hualien, on Taiwan’s eastern coast, damaging buildings and trapping people amid aftershocks following the quake, which started at 7.58am On Wednesday.
It's considered as Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years and caused building collapses, power outages and landslides on the island, and sparking initial tsunami warnings in southern Japan and the Philippines.
Videos on social media showed children being rescued from collapsed residential buildings. One five-storey building in Hualien appeared heavily damaged, its first floor collapsed and the bulk of the building leaning at a 45-degree angle.
Taiwan’s Centre for Science and Technology (CST) said people and vehicles were trapped in the Dachingshui tunnel. Train lines were also damaged, and schools and workplaces were closed across large areas of the city.
Witnesses in Hualien described driving while rocks dislodged from nearby mountains fell down around them, while others rushed outside after feeling the strength of the tremors.
