This Thursday, April 4, rescue teams continue the search for more than 600 people trapped or missing after the earthquake that shook the east coast of Taiwan this Wednesday, the second most intense in the history of the island.

According to the latest data from the Emergency Response Center (CEOC), the earthquake has caused the death of ten people, the last of them a 65-year-old hiker buried by rocks in the Taroko National Park, while another 1,067 have been injured . .

Rescuers are concentrating their efforts on finding the more than 600 people trapped in this park, one of the main tourist spots in Taiwan, which is difficult to access due to the poor condition of the terrain and the constant aftershocks.

In fact, the Central Meteorological Agency (CWA) has counted more than 400 aftershocks of the earthquake, all of them around the eastern county of Hualien, the area closest to the epicenter of the earthquake.

In addition, in the next few hours a front is expected to leave “brief and localized” rains in the mountainous areas of central and eastern Taiwan, which will increase the “risk of landslides, rock falls and avalanches,” said the CEOC. it’s a statement.

“The CEOC remains continually operational. “Rescuing the trapped and missing people is of utmost urgency, every second counts,” said the organization, which coordinated the deployment of 7,860 military personnel, police officers and firefighters, as well as 16 aircraft and 710 vehicles to collaborate in the rescue tasks.

Reestablishment of connections with Hualien

On the positive side, 70 people made it out of the Hualien mining areas alive: six were rescued by helicopter early in the morning and the rest descended the mountain under their own power at noon.

Another six students from National Dong Hwa University were found safe and sound in the morning, after one of the buildings at the educational center suffered a serious fire following the earthquake, with damage estimated at 400 million Taiwan dollars (12.47 million dollars, 11.49 million euros ), according to the state news agency CNA.

Communications with Hualien, which had been partially isolated after the earthquake, have also been partially restored early in the day coinciding with the start of the Tomb Sweeping Festival (Qingming in Mandarin), although many sections of road have suffered severe damage.

The railway line between Yilan and Hualien counties resumed operations at 6:00 am (22:00 GMT Wednesday), much earlier than authorities initially planned, after employees of the state Railway Corporation spent all night cleaning the tracks and repairing damaged sections.

Semiconductor companies, for their part, have reported “minimal” deterioration after the earthquake: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the largest chip manufacturer in the world and one of the most important companies in Taiwan, has managed to restore more than 70% of its production lines after the earthquake.