Over 400 Taiwanese tourists in Turkey all safe from the earthquake

Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) None of the more than 400 Taiwanese tourists in Turkey were involved in the magnitude 7.8 temblor that rocked the country and Syria on Monday morning, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) on Tuesday.

All 414 tourists from 17 Taiwanese tour groups were safe, the MOTC's Tourism Bureau said after contacting domestic travel agencies which offer trips to Turkey including Lion Travel, Phoenix Tours, and Richmond Tours.

The bureau said none of the tour groups were in the impacted Turkish regions, and it had not received any emergency report from the travel agencies, but it would keep monitoring developments.

Monday's earthquake also raised concerns over whether people could cancel tour group bookings to the country. In response, the bureau said if a tour group does not visit the impacted regions, any cancellation would only be for personal reasons and the consumer would have to compensate the travel agency according to related rules and regulations.

So far, the death toll from the earthquake is over 5,000, according to Reuters. The number is expected to increase as search and rescue efforts continue.