Bodies pulled from the rubble in Taiwan after 7.4-magnitude earthquake
Taiwanese residents evacuated from their homes are accommodated in the tent area of a shelter after the main earthquake in Hualien City, eastern Taiwan on Thursday.
The strongest earthquake to stike the nation in a quarter-century has rocked the country during the morning rush hour.
Firefighters move victims' bodies outside a collapsed building in Hualien City, near the epicentre of the quake.
Nine people have now been confirmed dead and more than 1,000 injured.
A man looks at the cordoned off site of a leaning building in the aftermath of the earthquake in Hualien.
It is among a number of buildings that have been severely damaged by the 7.4 magnitude quake, the lower levels crushed. Just over 150 kilometres away in the capital of Taipei, tiles fell from older buildings and schools evacuated students to sports fields as aftershocks rattled the island nation.
Rescuers fanned out in Hualien, looking for people who may be trapped and using excavators to stabilise damaged buildings.
The numbers of people missing, trapped or stranded fluctuated as authorities learned of more in trouble and worked to locate or free them.
Search and rescue teams are flying from southern Taiwan's Pingtung military air base to help in the recovery effort and bring in much-needed supplies.
Thousands of local residents have been evacuated from their homes and are being accommodated in tents at a shelter in Hualien City.
A mother comforts her baby outside the shelter on Thursday morning.
Taiwan is regularly jolted by quakes and its population is among the best prepared for them. But authorities expected a relatively mild earthquake and did not send out alerts.
The eventual quake was strong enough to scare even people who are used to such shaking.
Firefighters prepare to move victims' bodies outside a collapsed building.
Most of the deaths reported so far were caused by falling rocks, including four people who were struck inside Taroko National Park, according to the state Central News Agency.
One died in a residential building that was damaged, the news agency said.
Members of a Buddhist group pray for victims in a car during a rescue operation.
Hualien Mayor Hsu Chen-wei said 48 residential buildings were damaged in the city, which shares a name with the county.
Hsu said water and electricity supplies were in the process of being restored.
Rescue operations are underway in Taiwan after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on April 3, 2024.
It was the strongest earthquake in a quarter-century, rocking Taiwan during the morning rush hour, killing nine people, stranding dozens of workers at quarries and sending some residents scrambling out the windows of damaged buildings.
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