6.9-magnitude quake hits Taiwan, causing one death, injuries

TAIPEI, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:44 p.m. Sunday, leading to one death and some injuries.

A strong tremor rippled across the island. A worker from a cement plant in the epicenter, Yuli Town, got injured and died after arriving at the hospital.

A three-story building in Yuli, whose ground floor was a 7-ELEVEN convenience store, collapsed, trapping four people. After about three hours, all the four people, including a five-year-old girl, were rescued safe, said local media.

A train carriage was turned over by a fallen rain shed in a railway station, while two bridge fractures left three people injured. They were rescued later.

More than 400 tourists were stranded in a mountainous area in Yuli.

Other mishaps include delayed trains and power failures, and relief work is underway.

Several towns in Hualien and Taitung have announced that all work and schools would be suspended on Monday.

The epicenter was monitored at 23.15 degrees north latitude and 121.30 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 10 km, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

A 6.5-magnitude quake jolted the island at 9:41 p.m. Saturday, followed by more than 100 tremors. According to the CENC, a 5.7-magnitude quake hit Taitung County at 1:19 p.m., and a 5.4-magnitude one hit Hualien at 5:39 p.m. Sunday.