Around a thousand people trapped in the mountains of the National Park after earthquake in Taiwan

Around a thousand people were trapped this Wednesday in the mountains of Taroko National Park, in Hualien, in southeastern Taiwan, after the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that hit the island, reported the CNA news agency.

According to estimates by park authorities, at least 654 people, including tourists and staff, were in Taroko at the time of the earthquake and several hundred entered the park later, bringing the number of people to around a thousand.

After establishing an emergency center, Taroko National Park is contacting mountaineering teams on site, although it has not yet determined the exact number of people who entered the mountain during the day, CNA said.

The park will remain closed until April 7 and officials have asked visitors to avoid areas that were hit by the earthquake.

Taiwan earthquake

At least seven people died and 711 were injuredaccording to a provisional balance of victims of the earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale that hit the coast of Taiwan this Wednesday, indicated the civil protection authority.

The earthquake, the strongest to hit the island in the last 25 yearsoccurred at 09:00 (01:00 in Lisbon), with the epicenter located near Hualien, at a depth of 15.5 kilometersindicated the China Seismological Center.

The magnitude of the underwater earthquake was further estimated at 7.5 by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), 7.4 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and 7.2 by the Taiwan Meteorological Agency (CWA).