Taiwan Earthquake survivor describe it as “The Mountain Rained Rocks like Bullets

• Taiwan experienced its worst earthquake in 25 years, resulting in over 600 stranded people.
• The 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit near Hualien, killing nine and injuring over 1,000.
• Difficulty in escaping due to damaged roads is a common experience.

A day after the island experienced its worst earthquake in 25 years, rescuers in Taiwan are working to reach more than 600 stranded people. One survivor has recounted how tremors unleashed rockslides “like bullets” around the coal mine he was working at. The 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit near the eastern county of Hualien, killing nine and injuring more than 1,000.

Helicopters have rescued some individuals stuck in tunnels and near a national park, but 34 people are still missing. The official count of trapped or stranded individuals rose considerably – from about 100 to 660 – on Thursday as people began regaining phone signal in the mountainous regions. Almost all of them are guests and staff of a remote hotel who are unable to leave due to damaged roads. Officials are now striving to determine the best method for their evacuation.

Local reports indicate that dozens trapped in these areas have received air-dropped food supplies.

“The mountain started raining rocks like bullets, we had nowhere to escape to, everyone ran beside the sandbags for cover,” the survivor, identified by his surname Chu, told Taiwan’s Central News Agency.

Three of the nine who died were hikers on a trail leading towards Taroko National Park, named after a landmark gorge, just outside Hualien.

In Hualien city, the capital of the county where the earthquake struck, relief efforts are proceeding quickly, with workers employing excavators and other heavy equipment to demolish several damaged buildings.

On Thursday morning, the BBC also observed relief workers removing huge boulders – the size of cars – that had fallen close to railway lines to restore normal train services.

They are also employing large amounts of gravel and rocks to shore up a 10-story structure known as the Uranus building, which has been leaning downwards since the quake struck, to prevent it from falling over in case of another aftershock.

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