A strong earthquake hit Taiwan on Sunday, leaving two dead, one missing and 21 others injured, officials said. The quake, which violently shook buildings in the capital Taipei, sent people running into the streets and was also felt in Hong Kong, more than 700 kilometres (435 miles) away.
Taiwan's Seismology Centre measured the quake's magnitude at 6.3, while the US Geological Survey put it at 6.2. The tremor hit at 1:43 pm (0543 GMT), centred 32 kilometres east of the central county of Nantou at a depth of 10 kilometres, followed by a series of aftershocks, the Seismology Centre said.
The National Fire Agency said a mountain climber was killed after he was hit by falling rocks on Mount Ali in central Taiwan, while the second victim also died after being knocked down by falling rocks.
In Chushan town of Nantou county, rescuers were running against time, digging through tonnes of rubble which buried a male angler.
"The rescuers have been working hard to search and rescue the missing person, even though, I'm afraid, the odds of finding him alive is slim," a National Fire Agency official told AFP. Twenty-one people were injured, including three severely, the agency said.
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