4 killed in Taiwan earthquake

TAIPEI - The 6.7-magnitude earthquake that shook Nantou county in Taiwan on Sunday afternoon has left four people dead, according to the island's disaster response authorities.

By Monday morning, another three people had been confirmed severely injured and 17 others sustained minor injuries.

Currently, 18,810 people across 840 mainland tourist groups are travelling in Taiwan. Of the total, 817 people in 33 groups were in Nantou at the time of the quake.

There have been no reports of casualties or injuries among visitors from the mainland, said the authorities.

Located in central Taiwan, Nantou County is mostly surrounded by mountains. Nantou's Riyuetan ("Sun Moon Lake") scenic attraction is quite popular with mainland visitors, according to Man Hongwei, head of the Taipei office of the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits.

The quake damaged the archway of Wenwu Temple in Riyuetan, but fortunately, no one was killed or injured, said Man.

Cable-car services at the scenic spot were suspended immediately after the quake, and inspections and repair work are ongoing.

The quake also led to falling rock that blocked the main road of Tianzhu Mountans Tianti ("Ladder to Heaven") scenic spot and the Eight Diagram Tea Garden. It also disrupted communications and transport.

Some visitors were trapped there briefly. Following emergency repairs, about 100 trapped visitors had already been moved from the affected area by early Monday morning.