At least 9 dead in Taiwan quake

AN earthquake killed at least nine people and injured more than 1,000 in Taiwan yesterday, leaving hundreds feared trapped in collapsed buildings and road tunnels.

- Robert Kellaway

The 7.4-magnitude quake was the island's biggest in 25 years.

Officials and rescuers braced for aftershocks as they tackled 24 major landslides and 35 damaged road bridges and tunnels.

The epicentre was in the sea 11 miles south of the coastal city of Hualien, at a depth of 21.6 miles, according to the US Geological Survey. Afterwards tsunami warnings were issued in Japan and the Philippines but later withdrawn.

All the deaths reported were in Hualien county including three hikers who were crushed to death by falling boulders and a truck driver whose vehicle was hit by a landslide as it approached a tunnel.