Taiwan earthquake injuries top 1,000, hotel workers still missing

The number of people injured in a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in eastern Taiwan climbed past 1,000 on Thursday though the death toll remained steady at nine, with 38 workers on their way to a hotel in a national park still missing and others now found.

The temblor, the strongest in 25 years, hit on Wednesday morning just as people were readying to go to work and school, centred on the largely rural and sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien.

Buildings also shook violently in capital Taipei, but damage and disruption there was minimal.

Taiwan's fire department said the number of injuries had reached 1,038, putting the total number of missing at 52. Around a dozen of the hotel workers on their way to a resort in Taroko National Park had been located, with 38 still listed as missing.

The fire department said its rescue work was focused on people trapped on the cross-island highway, which traverses the gorge connecting Hualien with Taiwan's west coast and is a popular tourist destination.

Authorities are using drones and helicopters to look for people in the gorge and will drop supplies to them when they are found.