The death toll of a deadly earthquake that tilted buildings and caused landslides in Taiwan rose to 13 on Saturday, while search and rescue efforts continued after the critical 72-hour period for survival passed in the morning.
Six people are still unaccounted for in the hardest-hit eastern county of Hualien following the quake that struck on Wednesday and registered magnitude 7.2, according to Taiwanese authorities.
The temblor is reported to be the biggest to hit the island since 1999.
The rise in the death toll was announced after search and rescue workers discovered three more bodies over the last two days on a trail at the national park. After the first 72 hours of a disaster, the victim survival rate is said to drop sharply.
According to the latest statement issued by authorities, over 1,100 people have been injured. Hundreds of people continue to shelter in and around the Tianxiang area in the Taroko National Park, with helicopters airlifting people to safety as aftershocks continue.
A group of 50 hotel workers marooned on a road to the national park are now mostly safe.
“I am lucky to survive,” said David Chen, 63, a security manager at the hotel, after his rescue. “We were terrified when the earthquake first happened. We thought it was all over, all over, all over, because it was an earthquake, right?”
Rocks were still tumbling down nearby slopes as the group left, he added. “We had to navigate through the gaps between the falling rocks, with the rescue team out front.”
Lori Hoy, a 68-year-old American woman from California, who was airlifted out from Tianxiang on Saturday, told Kyodo News that the people who are sheltering in the area remain relatively healthy. The authorities have been delivering food and water, as well as other items necessary for survival, by helicopter.
“I’m from California. So, I’ve been in earthquakes before but that was the strongest one I’d ever been in,” Hoy said.
Taiwan said it has welcomed a seven-member team from Turkey, making it the first foreign rescue squad brought in to support the search efforts following the latest quake.
The team from Turkey, a quake-prone country, includes experts in the use of drone technology, which should help with the search in mountainous areas, according to Taiwanese officials.