/2024/04/03/349906550p.jpg)
NATURAL DISASTER/ EARTHQUAKE - TAIPEI. Taiwan rescue helicopters flew sorties Saturday (Apr 6) to pluck tourists to safety after a massive earthquake cut off roads and blocked tunnels, leaving hundreds stranded for days in the mountains.
At least 12 people were killed and more than 1,100 injured by the magnitude 7.2 quake that struck the island on Wednesday, with strict building codes and widespread disaster readiness credited with averting an even bigger catastrophe.
Rescuers were also planning to bring in heavy equipment to try to recover two bodies buried under boulders on a hiking trail.
At least four more people remain missing on the same Shakadang Trail in Taroko National Park, famed for its rugged mountainous terrain. Search and recovery work was set to resume after being called off on Friday afternoon because of aftershocks.
More than 600 people, including about 450 at a hotel in the Taroko park, remained stranded in various locations cut off by rockslides and other damage.
Read Also: Strong Quake Rocks Taiwan, Tsunami Warnings Issued
But helicopters from the National Airborne Service Corps were flying into cut-off areas near the Taroko National Park to pluck stranded visitors to safety.
An AFP staffer saw one flight ferry 12 people to safety, and a second with 16.
"Priority was given to the elderly, the weak, women, children, and people with chronic diseases," said Taiwan news website ET Today.
"Although everyone was tired after coming down the mountain, they all still showed smiles."
Survivors have told harrowing tales of rocks tumbling onto roadways, trapping them in tunnels until rescuers arrived to free them.
Rescuers also airdropped boxes of food and supplies to a group of students, teachers and residents at an inaccessible elementary school.
Wednesday's quake was the most serious in Taiwan since one of a magnitude of 7.6 hit the island in 1999.
The death toll then was far higher - with 2,400 people killed in the deadliest natural disaster in the island's history.
Read Also: Massive Fire Erupts at Indonesian Ammunition Depot, No Deaths Reported
Stricter regulations - including enhanced seismic requirements in its building codes - and widespread public disaster awareness appeared to have staved off a more serious catastrophe this time around.
A preliminary report by the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering released Friday said 84 buildings had been "severely damaged" by the quake - most in Hualien county.
About 10 people are reported to be missing, including two Singaporeans.
They have been identified as married couple Sim Hwee Kok and Neo Siew Choo.
According to Singapore Mandarin news platform 8World, they were last seen boarding a tourist shuttle bus on Wednesday morning. They were en route to Tianxiang in Hualian County, when they alighted halfway.
