QUAKE ROCKS TAIWAN

TAIWAN was ravaged by its most powerful earthquake in 25 years yesterday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 900.

- JEREMY ARMSTRONG

The tremors in the east coast of the country, rated at 7.4-magnitutude by the United States Geological Survey, also left 127 people trapped in fallen buildings and collapsed mountain tunnels, with rescuers battling to reach them.

In Hualien, 11 miles north of the epicentre, high-rises and offices designed to withstand quakes leaned at precarious angles.

Firefighters struggled to search for survivors amid fears of further collapses, while locals shouted into buildings for signs of people trapped.

CCTV images showed waves rising on a rooftop swimming pool in capital Taipei, 100 miles from the epicentre.