More than 600 people still stranded in Taiwan, three days after earthquake that killed at least 12

At least 12 people were killed by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck off Taiwan’s east coast, and 10 others were still missing

Rescuers were planning to bring in heavy equipment on April 6 to try to recover two bodies buried under boulders on a hiking trail, three days after Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years.

Four more people remain missing on the same Shakadang Trail in Taroko National Park, famed for its rugged mountainous terrain. Search and recovery work was set to resume, after being called off Friday afternoon because of aftershocks.

Also read | Rescuers search for people out of contact in Taiwan after strong earthquake

At least 12 people were killed by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Wednesday morning off Taiwan's east coast, and 10 others were still missing.

More than 600 people, including about 450 at a hotel in the Taroko park, remained stranded in various locations cut off by rockslides and other damage.

Survivors have told harrowing tales of rocks tumbling onto roadways, trapping them in tunnels until rescuers arrived to free them. In the city of Hualien, a building left tilting over a street at a precarious angle was being carefully torn down.

The relatively low number of deaths from such a powerful quake has been attributed to strict construction standards and widespread public education campaigns on the earthquake-prone island.