22 foreigners injured and one Chinese in critical condition: official updates

官方更新：22名外國人受傷，一名中國人情況危急

6 dead, 258 injured, and 67 missing so far from the Hualien earthquake late Tuesday night


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) released on Wednesday evening the latest updates of foreigners among the casualties of the Hualien quake, saying that all of them suffered from minor injuries except for one Chinese tourist who was in critical condition.

A quake with a magnitude of 6 stroke Hualien City in eastern Taiwan near midnight on Tuesday, leaving 6 dead, 258 injured, and 67 missing so far. The rescue teams are racing with time to find those who are still trapped in the buildings and the number of casualties is expected to rise.

Four buildings were reported to have collapsed or on the verge of falling down, and two bridges have been sealed off due to severe damage.

The MAC said the condition of the 40-year-old Chinese woman, surnamed Yu (余), remained critical, and that her husband had flown to Taiwan in the afternoon through expedited entry to Kinmen permitted by the Taiwanese authorities.

The Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), a semi-governmental organization for civil exchange with China, said Yu’s son, who was also wounded during the earthquake, attended his mother on a wheelchair in the evening.

In addition, five Chinese people were treated for minor injuries at the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, said the SEF.

Apart from the Chinese people, the MOFA reported that nine Japanese, one Indian, one Czech, and one Filipino were treated at local hospitals for minor wounds and discharged afterwards. One Korean with an injury to the foot was treated at the emergency shelter and response center.

As of now, three foreigners are still being treated at the hospital, according to the MOFA, including one Thai who was reported to have a leg injury, a Korean woman who was earlier rescued from a tilted building after being trapped for 10 hours, and a Japanese national.

The MAC said people having lost their identification documents because of the earthquake could contact the council for assistance. They can also get in touch with the National Immigration Agency.

The MOFA also provided a hotline (0800-085-095) for foreigners in need of help, and said its website would continue to release updates of the rescue work in Chinese, English, and Japanese.