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Taiwan earthquake rescuers deal with threat of landslides, rockfalls; death toll at 12

Rescuers in Taiwan faced the threat of additional landslides and rockfalls in Friday's. look for a dozen individuals still missing from this week's. earthquake, as the death toll rose to 12 while some of those. stranded were given safety.

Searchers found 2 more bodies after Wednesday's quake. of magnitude 7.2 struck the sparsely populated, mostly rural. eastern county of Hualien, stranding hundreds in a national forest. as stones barrelled down mountains, cutting off roadways.

About 50 aftershocks rattled the area overnight, some felt. as far away as Taipei. Rescuers stated about 400 individuals cut off in. a high-end hotel in the Taroko Gorge national park were safe, with. helicopters ferrying out the injured and bringing supplies.

Rain increases the dangers of rockfalls and landslides, which. are currently the most significant difficulties, said Su Yu-ming, the. leader of a search group helping the rescue effort, indicating. expectations for rain.

These factors are unpredictable, which suggests we can not. confirm the number of days needed for the search and rescue. operations.

Taiwan's fire department said 2 bodies were found in the. mountains, but wanted to verify their identities before. upgrading the death toll.

It put the number of missing out on at 13, three of them foreigners. of Australian and Canadian nationality.

Aid materials are reaching the scene, while senior. political leaders such as President Tsai Ing-wen said they were. contributing a month's income to relief efforts.

Japan will supply $1 million in aid to Taiwan for rescue. and recovery effort, its foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, stated.

HOTEL WORKERS FOUND

A group of 50 hotel employees marooned on a roadway to the. national park are now primarily safe.

I am lucky to make it through, said David Chen, 63, a security. manager at the hotel, after his rescue. We were horrified when. the earthquake initially happened. We believed it was all over, all. over, all over, since it was an earthquake, right?

Rocks were still tumbling down close by slopes as the group. left, he added. We had to navigate through the gaps between the. falling rocks, with the rescue group out front.

Chen's 85-year-old mom wept in relief on being reunited. with her child, as the household had not understood for a long time if he. had actually survived.

I mored than happy when he returned, said the mom, Chen. Lan-chih. I didn't sleep at all last night and couldn't eat. anything.

The quake came a day before Taiwan started a vacation. holiday for the conventional tomb sweeping festival, when individuals. head to their homes to beautify ancestral graves.

Many others go to traveler spots, like Hualien, renowned for its. rugged appeal, however the earthquake has crushed company, with. many bookings cancelled, some businesses said.

This is a catastrophe actually for us due to the fact that no matter. ( whether) hotel, hostel, restaurants (everything) actually depends. on tourist, said hostel owner Aga Syu, including that her main. concern was the wellness of visitors.

I hope this will not destroy their picture of Hualien.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is. vulnerable to earthquakes. More than 100 people were eliminated in a 2016. quake in its south, while among magnitude 7.3 eliminated more than. 2,000 in 1999.

(source: Reuters)