DAfter the earthquake in Taiwan, the number of injured has risen to over 1,000. As authorities announced Thursday evening, 1,011 people have been injured so far. There was initially no news of the 143 people trapped, including 71 miners in the quarry. As of Thursday morning (local time), no more deaths were reported beyond the nine known victims.
The earthquake hit Taiwan during rush hour on Wednesday morning and was felt across the island of more than 23 million people. According to Taiwan, it reached a magnitude of 7.2 and is considered the strongest earthquake there in nearly 25 years. The epicenter of the earthquake was located just a few kilometers from the east coast near the city of Hualien, which was hit particularly hard.
This Thursday, the emergency center wants to provide information on further developments while rescue and clean-up efforts continue in the affected areas. Taiwan's Prime Minister Chen Cien-jen declared the county surrounding Hualien a disaster area. The Ministry of Defense and the fire service wanted to use reconnaissance drones to search the area for missing and distressed people.