4 mainland tourists die in Taiwan earthquake, 5 others trapped

TAIPEI -- Four tourists from the mainland had been confirmed dead as of Thursday morning after a magnitude-6.5 earthquake hit Taiwan's Hualien county.

Three of the dead, all female, were found in the damaged Yun Men Tusi Ti building. Another female tourist was rescued from the same building Wednesday, but was declared dead Wednesday evening.

Rescuers said five other mainland tourists are still trapped in the building, including four adults and one child.

So far, no signs of life have been detected from the room of the trapped. Rescuers said they could not enter the room because it was severely squeezed.

Nine people in total were killed, 266 injured and 62 still missing as of 8:00 am Thursday after the earthquake jolted waters near Hualien county at 11:50 pm Tuesday.

It was the most severe earthquake to hit Hualien in five decades, according to Fu Kun-Chi, head of Hualien county.