News Obiaks News

A 6.4 magnitude earth quake in Taiwan's popular tourist city of Hualien has left at least 6 people killed, 258 injured while rescuers workers are searching through rubble for about 60 missing people. 

The earthquake struck just before midnight on Tuesday, damaged multiple buildings across the coastal city, which is home to an estimated 100,000 people. 

Live pictures coming from the city shows tilted building, scattered debris and damage roads. A hospital building is among the damaged buildings. Some people are still trapped under damaged buildings which includes the Yunman Cuidi building, which has residential and commercial floors and the city's Marshal Hotel where rescuers two Taiwanese trapped. One was pulled out alive but the other was declared dead, the government said.

The city could still face aftershocks with a magnitude of at least 5.0. Chinese, Czech, Japanese and South Korean's were among those injured. 

"This is the worst earthquake in the history of Hualien, or at least over the past 40 years that I've been alive," said volunteer Yang Hsi Hua.

"We've never had anything like this, we've never had a building topple over. Also, it was constantly shaking, so everyone was really scared, we ran to empty open spaces to avoid it."

Residents are taken shelter in community buildings while the government have adviced people to stay away from their damaged homes. About 40,000 homes are without water and 1,900 without power.

Rescue efforts by emergency workers, including soldiers, are being hampered by aftershocks from the most powerful earth recorded in Taiwan.