Rescue efforts persist in Taiwan’s Taroko National Park as search continues for missing couple, Neo Siew Choo and Sim Hwee Kok, who vanished amid the aftermath of a powerful earthquake.
The aftermath of a devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan has gripped the nation with grief and urgency, as rescue teams tirelessly seek survivors in the rubble. Among those missing are Australian nationals Neo Siew Choo and Sim Hwee Kok, whose whereabouts have remained unknown for six harrowing days since the quake struck at 7:58 am last Wednesday.
The earthquake, the most severe to shake Taiwan in a quarter-century, has inflicted a toll of 13 confirmed fatalities and left over 1,100 individuals injured. Particularly hard-hit is Taiwan’s eastern Hualien county, located mere kilometers from the quake’s epicenter.
Initial rescue endeavors concentrated on Hualien city’s collapsed structures, but attention has since shifted to the surrounding Taroko National Park, where the seismic event triggered substantial landslides.
While 33 individuals have been accounted for within the park, five, including the Australian couple, remain unaccounted for, alongside three Taiwanese nationals.
Search efforts have zeroed in on the mountainous Shakadang trail, a favored tourist path traversing the national park’s rugged terrain. Director Jian Hong-cheng of the Hualien County Fire Department’s rescue operation disclosed that CCTV footage captured the couple disembarking from a bus near the trailhead. Another video, obtained from a German tourist, depicts the couple initiating their hike a mere 500 meters along the path, a scant 25 minutes before disaster struck.
Jian conveyed, “So far, we have been unable to locate them,” adding that a spot approximately 800 meters along the trail has emerged as a focal point for search operations. However, progress is impeded by the trail’s inundation with debris and formidable rock formations. “There is no way for us to cut through the rock by hand, and so we have to wait for the excavator to arrive,” Jian explained. “But at the moment, the route is blocked by large boulders.”
The perilous terrain, compounded by relentless aftershocks, poses a daunting challenge to rescue teams. Over 785 aftershocks have been recorded in the region since Wednesday, heightening the risk of further landslides and imperiling the safety of rescue personnel. “We are still constantly experiencing intense aftershocks,” Jian cautioned. “This is the greatest risk to the workers carrying out the rescue. It’s very dangerous.”
Inclement weather further complicates the rescue operation, with heavy rainfall limiting search and rescue endeavors to the mornings. With forecasts predicting continued downpours, the race against time intensifies. “A normal person who is trapped in this environment has little chance of survival after seven days,” Jian lamented. “Things are moving towards a point where we are becoming less optimistic.”
As emergency services embark on their sixth consecutive day of operations, the imperative to locate survivors amid the wreckage looms large, underscoring the urgency and gravity of the ongoing rescue mission in Taiwan’s Taroko National Park.