Taiwan earthquake live updates: Nine people crushed to death in landslides and over 1,000 injured, with 70 trapped in rock quarries

Taiwan’s National Fire Agency said that 1,011 people have been injured by the earthquake, adding that the number of fatalities has stayed the same.

The Dalai Lama has offered his condolences to those who have suffered following the Taiwan earthquake.

In a statement published on his website, he wrote: ‘I pray for those who have lost their lives, as well as for the many who have been injured as a result of this natural disaster.

‘I offer my condolences to Your Excellency and to the families of all who have been affected by this tragedy.

‘I commend your Government and its concerned agencies for their swift response as they seek to rescue the injured and provide relief to those who need help.’

Taiwan’s national fire agency says 70 miners are trapped in two different rock quarries in Hualien County.

Sixty-four people were trapped in one quarry, and six people were in another, the agency said.

Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) said that 172 telecom base stations were affected by the massive earthquake.

Stations from all three of Taiwan’s major telecom companies, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, and FarEasTone, all reported issues.

Chunghwa Telecom reported 125 affected base stations, Taiwan Mobile reported 33, and FarEasTone Telecom reported 14, according to the NCC.

It comes as authorities said they had lost contact with 50 trapped people who are stuck on four minibuses.

Six people are trapped in a coal mine in Taiwan, following the biggest earthquake the country has seen in 25 years.

Details about the situation are currently scant.

An official from the local fire department, Su Ching-hui, said rescuers are facing extreme difficulties, according to the Reuters news agency.

He says: ‘Whenever our team moves, the building becomes unstable and they have to find something to hold on to ensure their safety before pulling people out.’

Authorities said the quake and aftershocks also caused 24 landslides and damage to 35 roads, bridges and tunnels.

The number of people injured by the earthquake has risen to 934. The number of people dead has stayed the same at nine.

Taiwan’s national fire agency said it has lost contact with the 50 people trapped in four minibuses who were on their way to the now-devastated Taroko national park.

Phone service has largely gone down after the earthquake took out significant parts of infrastruture on the island.

All 50 of them are staff who were being transported to Silks Place Taroko Hotel, ahead of a long weekend for two public holidays

Data from Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) shows that no fewer than 130 aftershocks have been recorded since the 7.4-magnitude quake.

Many of them have been over 5-magnitude.

A printing factory in New Taipei City collapsed, leaving three people trapped who have since been rescued

Local mayor Hou Yu-ih says: ‘There were 57 people inside.

‘Aside from our immediate evacuation, there were three people trapped inside.

‘The last one was rescued at around 11:57 (03:57BST).

‘As of now, there is only one person injured. The rest of the people in the factory are unharmed.’

Taiwanese officials said the number of people trapped as a result of the earthquake has risen to 127.

77 of them are trapped inside the Jinwen and Daqinqshui tunnels under mountains in Hualien county.

The remaining 50 are trapped in four minibuses that were travelling from Hualien City to Taroko national park.

All 50 of them are staff who were being transported to Silks Place Taroko Hotel, ahead of a long weekend for two public holidays.

Taiwan officials have updated the death toll to nine. They also revealed that more 882 people were injured, but did not specify how or how badly they were all hurt.

All the deaths took place in Hualien county.

The earthquake tore through infrastructure in Taiwan, including main roads and tunnels.

Around 60 people are trapped in the Chongde Tunnel, which is located in Taroko National Park.

Civilian vehicles were destroyed by the earthquake that struck Taiwan this morning.

One car was seen with its roof completely caved in, and the bonnet twisted at an awkward angle.

Behind it was a large boulder that came to rest partly in a bus that was travelling on the same road, Zhonghengbian Road.

Local media has reported that Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration recorded 58 aftershocks recorded as of 12pm local time (5am UK time).

Nine of them measures between magnitudes of 5 and 6, while two exceeded six.

Foxconn, the world’s largest tech maker, says that no damage has been done to its delicate manufacturing equipment, and that the operational and financial impact to the company is very slight.

Foxconn makes most of the iPhone’s that are sold across the world, and it is estimated that it makes 40% of all consumer electronics sold worldwide.

The 6th Mixed Wing of the Air Force, and the 10th Airlift Group, have begun dispatching three batches and three sorties of C-130 aircraft to carry out disaster relief operations and carry rescuers to where they are most needed.

Taiwan’s air force said six F-16 fighter jets had been slightly damaged at a major base in the city from which jets are often scrambled to see off incursions by China’s air force, but it expected the aircraft to return to service very soon.

Train services along China’s eastern coast came to a standstill following the massive Taiwan earthquake.

Passengers have been lining up outside train stations up and down the coastal Fujian province.

John Dennis, the head of the British Office in Taipei, took to X to express his sympathies with the victims of the earthquake.

Hualien County sits on the eastern side of the island, facing out towards the Phillippine Sea.

The city’s closest geographic neighbour is Japan’s Yonaguni Island.

The quake’s epicentre was18 kilometres (11 miles) south of Taiwan’s Hualien City, at a depth of 15.5 km (9.6 miles).

Taiwan’s Economic Minister Wang Mei-hua said power stations across the country were affected by the massive earthquake, and that despite the efforts from energy workers, 87,132 households still do not have power.

More than 308,000 households were affected by power outages following the quake, but as of 9:30am local time, 70% had their power back.

Electricity utility Taipower said the island’s two nuclear power stations unaffected.

Officials from Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Centre said at a press conference that three hikers were killed by falling rocks while walking on the Dekalun Trail near Hualien.

Meanwhile, a truck driver and another person in a private car died from falling debris in the nearby Huide Tunnel.

A person died at a quarry owned by Taiwan’s national cement company, and a construction worker died on a nearby highway.

• Terrifying footage from a damaging 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Taiwan shows commuters being rocked on trains and shaken on bridges.
• Rescuers expect the total number of injured and killed to rise as the hunt for people trapped by the quake continues.
• Dramatic video taken during the quake showed commuters on a Taipei metro train being flung around a carriage by the force of the ground movement.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) said that aftershocks between 6.5 and 7-magnitude may occur over the next few days.

Today’s 7.4-magnitude quake was most likely the main one, the CWA’s Wu Chien-fu said at a press conference.

Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen took to X to express her thanks to emergency services for their work in helping citizens on the island.

Authorities said that 77 people are confirmed to be trapped in tunnels and underneath buildings.

Most of them, roughly 60, are trapped in a tunnel just north of Hualien city, with two Germans among those trapped in another tunnel.

Today’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake is the strongest to have hit the island in 25 years.

The last quake with a similar strength hit Taiwan in September 1999, killing around 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history.

Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida said his nation ‘stands ready to provide any assistance necessary to Taiwan’, following the 7.4-magnitude earthquake.

Kishida took to X to say: ‘I am deeply saddened to hear that a large earthquake has occurred in eastern Taiwan, causing extensive damage.

‘I would like to express my heartfelt sympathies to those affected. We are grateful for the heartwarming support we received from our dear friends in Taiwan during the Great East Japan Earthquake and the recent Noto Peninsula earthquake.’

Children in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture were made to leave their schools and go up to higher ground after a tsunami warning was issued.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said a tsunami wave roughly 30 centimetres tall was detected on the coast of Yonaguni island about 15 minutes after the quake struck. Smaller waves were measured on the islands of Ishigaki and Miyako.

Japan sent military aircraft to gather information about the impact around the Okinawa region, but the nation has since rescinded its tsunami warning

New images have revealed how badly Taiwan’s Hualien City was hit by the magnitude-7.4 quake, which struck south of the city just before 8:00 am local time (0000 GMT).

Authorities said that 736 people have been injured in the devastation wrought by the earthquake.

Taiwanese authorities said all the deaths caused by the earthquake occured in Hualien county, a mountainous part of Taiwan.

The government of Taiwan has announced that the death toll for the deadly earthquake has risen to seven. So far, more than 700 people have been injured by the quake, though the extent of the injuries suffered is not known.