TAIPEI: A strong earthquake shook buildings in the Taiwanese capital Taipei on Wednesday, injuring at least four people and sparking a fire, emergency officials and reports said.
The US Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 6.0 and said it struck at 10:03 am (0203 GMT), 48 kilometres (30 miles) east of Nantou in central Taiwan at a depth of 20.7 kilometres.
Taiwan's central weather bureau put the magnitude at 6.1 and said it was felt across the island.
The national fire agency said at least three people were slightly injured during the quake and there was report of a fire in Nantou and nearby Changhua counties.
Cable news channel SET TV showed footage of another woman in Nantou being carried to an ambulance after she was hit in the head by fragments of a ceiling that came loose during the quake.
Taiwan's high speed rail company said it had suspended all trains pending safety checks while the metro system in the capital Taipei was also temporarily suspended.
Nantou county was the epicentre of a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island's recent history.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.
Comments
Comments are closed.