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Natural disasters

Nine dead, 821 injured in Taiwan earthquake

According to local seismologists, the epicenter was in the sea, 25 kilometers southeast of Hualien City, and had a depth of 15.5 kilometers

HONG KONG, April 3. /TASS/. The death toll from an earthquake in Taiwan has risen to nine, while 821 people were injured, the Zhongshi Xinwenwan news portal reported, citing the island’s fire department.

Earlier, seven people were reported dead and 736 injured.

The magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Hualien County at 7:58 a.m. local time on Wednesday (11:58 p.m. GMT on Tuesday) and was felt all across the island. According to local seismologists, the epicenter was in the sea, 25 kilometers southeast of Hualien City, and had a depth of 15.5 kilometers. Over 40 aftershocks were recorded in the area; tremors were also felt in China’s eastern provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi. As of 3:33 p.m. local time (7:33 a.m. GMT), over 120 aftershocks had been recorded.

The Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation told TASS that the Taiwanese emergency response services have not reported that any Russian nationals were injured or killed by the earthquake.

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