Taiwan searches for 18 still missing after earthquake

Taiwanese rescuers looked for 18 people still missing on Friday after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the island’s mountainous and scenic east coast, as dozens of aftershocks rattled the disaster zone and those trapped were gradually taken to safety.
Wednesday’s earthquake in Taiwan’s sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien killed 10 people, leaving hundreds of people stranded in a national park as boulders barrelled down mountains, cutting off roads.
Taiwan’s fire department put the number of people still missing at 18, including four foreigners whose location it said was unknown.
Another six people are missing on a hiking trail, and a 45-person rescue team is trying to reach them, it added.
Rescuers have confirmed that around 400 people cut off at a luxury hotel in the Taroko Gorge national park are safe, and has been helicoptering in supplies and taking out those injured.
A group of 50 workers who were on their way to the hotel and had been trapped on roads are now mostly safe.