TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – A rescue worker says a crew is trying to free two people from a hotel whose ground floor caved after a strong earthquake hit near Taiwan’s eastern coast.
The shallow, magnitude 6.4 quake that struck late Tuesday night caused at least four buildings in worst-hit Hualien county to cave in and tilt dangerously. Taiwan’s Central News Agency says four people have been killed and 225 others injured, while more than 140 remain unaccounted for.
Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS said Wednesday that a rescue operation was underway at the Marshal Hotel.
In this image from TV, emergency services attend after a building collapsed on its side, as a man climbs a ladder to gain access to the building, centre background, after an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, early Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck late Tuesday near the coast of Taiwan, and people may be trapped inside the building. (EBC via AP)
One hotel employee was killed after the ground floor caved in. A rescue worker told TVBS that rescuers were working to save two other employees as family members waited nearby.
Rescuers are seen entering a building that collapsed onto its side from an early morning 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. Rescue workers are searching for any survivors trapped inside the building. (AP Photo/Tian Jun-hsiung)
In this image from TV, emergency services attend after a building collapsed onto it’s side, following an earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, early Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck late Tuesday near the coast of Taiwan, and people may be trapped inside the building. (EBC via AP)
In this photo released by Hualien County Fire Bureau, debris around a building as rescue workers gain entry after the building collapsed onto its side following an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Taiwan. (Hualien County Fire Bureau via AP)
In this photo released by Hualien County Fire Bureau, debris around a building that collapsed onto its side following an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Taiwan. (Hualien County Fire Bureau via AP)
In this image from TV, emergency services attend the scene after a building collapsed on its side, as a man climbs a ladder to gain access to the building, centre background, after an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, early Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck late Tuesday near the coast of Taiwan, and people may be trapped inside the building. (EBC via AP)
In this photo released by Hualien County Fire Bureau, rescuers are seen entering an building that collapsed onto its side from an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Taiwan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (Hualien County Fire Bureau via AP)
In this photo released by Hualien County Fire Bureau, an building collapsed by earthquake at an early morning in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Taiwan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (Hualien County Fire Bureau/Source via AP)
In this photo released by Hualien County Fire Bureau, rescuers are seen entering an building that collapsed on its side from an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Taiwan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (Hualien County Fire Bureau via AP)
In this photo released by Hualien County Fire Bureau, Taiwanese people watching a building that collapsed on its side from an early morning earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, early Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Taiwan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (Hualien County Fire Bureau via AP)
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