Hundreds evacuated from park after deadly Taiwan quake
Hundreds of people were evacuated on Sunday from unsafe locations in the Taroko National Park in eastern Taiwan, which was seriously affected by Wednesday's 7.2-magnitude earthquake.
The national park, the world's largest marble canyon, is located in the eastern city of Hualien, near the epicentre of the quake.
Roads in mountainous areas were damaged by multiple landslides. Several sections have since been rapidly repaired in order to evacuate hundreds of tourists and residents stuck in the park.
On Saturday and Sunday, more than 400 stranded people were taken out by helicopter or road. Only 38 people have been allowed to stay to carry out duties at the park, including at a hotel, an activity centre, a power station, and a Catholic church, the National Fire Agency (NFA) said on Sunday.
The disaster claimed at least 13 lives, and injured 1,140 people.
Six people are still unaccounted for. Interior Minister Lin Yu-chang, who chairs the Central Emergency Operation Centre, said on Sunday that rescuers will carry out a comprehensive search along the route of a trail in the park.
A special rescue team from Turkey on Sunday joined the mission to help search the park for missing people using drones.
The Central Weather Administration said on Sunday that there had been 699 aftershocks since the quake on Wednesday, including two exceeding a magnitude of 6 on Wednesday and 24 ranging from magnitude 5 to 6.
