TAIPEI, April 4 — A total of 41 people inside Taroko National Park were unaccounted for for more than 29 hours, since a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan on Wednesday morning.
As of 1.10pm Thursday, rescuers are still searching for three buses that were carrying 30 Silks Place Taroko Hotel employees as well as six hikers, three people at Taroko Village Hotel and two construction workers, according to the Central Emergency Operation Centre, Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
Meanwhile, a group of 24 tourists and five Silks Place Taroko Hotel employees are currently sheltered inside a rock shed near the Tunnel of Nine Turns, the centre said.
The centre added that work is ongoing to clear debris from Provincial Highway No. 8, the only road in and out of Taroko National Park, a popular tourist destination.
The centre said damage to the road has left 615 people stranded at Silks Place Taroko Hotel and the neighbouring Tienhsiang Youth Activity Centre.
The centre said a total of 2,498 cases of damage have been reported since Wednesday morning, with 1,140 of them coming from Taipei.
The capital's number was followed by 497 in New Taipei and 366 in Hualien County.
Of the 372,947 households left without power in Hualien County by the quake, all but 337 have had it restored as of 10.10am, the Economic Affairs Ministry said Thursday morning.
The ministry said 49,560 households still have no access to water, including 9,914 in Hualien County, while the water pressure has been lowered for 39,646 households in Yilan County.
It said services are expected to return to normal by Friday.
Out of a total of 80 cell towers damaged by the quake, 30 have been repaired with the rest expected to be working again by Friday, according to the National Communications Commission.
— Bernama
