41 still missing inside Taroko National Park following quake

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) A total of 41 people inside Taroko National Park remain unaccounted for more than 29 hours since a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan Wednesday morning.

As of 1:10 p.m. Thursday, rescuers are still searching for three buses carrying 30 Silks Place Taroko Hotel employees as well as six hikers, three people at Taroko Village Hotel and two construction workers, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center.

Meanwhile, a group of 24 tourists and five Silks Place Taroko Hotel employees are currently sheltered inside a rock shed near the Tunnel of Nine Turns, the center said.

The center added that work is ongoing to clear debris from Provincial Highway No. 8, the only road in or out of the majority of Taroko National Park.

In addition to those missing, damage to the road has left 615 stranded at Silks Place Taroko Hotel and the neighboring Tienhsiang Youth Activity Center, the center said.

Rescuers are also trying to locate one person believed to be in Hualien County's Hejen Mining Area, which sits just outside the national park's boundaries, the center added.

Another 64 individuals stuck in the nearby Heping Mining Area have returned to low-lying ground as of 12:30 p.m., according to the center.

Earlier on Thursday, the Ministry of Education said that six National Dong Hwa University students had been found, and were currently sheltering in a bed and breakfast near Hualien County's Xiulin Township.

Meanwhile, the center said a total of 2,498 cases of damage have been reported since Wednesday morning, with 1,140 of them coming from Taipei.

The capital's number was followed by 497 in New Taipei and 366 in Hualien County.

Of the 372,947 households left without power in Hualien County by the quake, all but 337 have had it restored as of 10:10 a.m., the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Thursday morning.

According to the MOEA, 49,560 households still have no access to water, including 9914 in Hualien County, while the water pressure has been lowered for 39,646 households in Yilan County.

The ministry said that services are expected to return to normal before Friday.

In addition, 394 households have undergone natural gas outages, of which only 63 have resumed services, the MOEA said.

Out of a total of 80 cell towers damaged by the quake, 30 have been repaired with the rest expected to be back online by Friday, according to the National Communications Commission.

Update

April 4

● 38 still missing as Hualien earthquake death toll rises to 10

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