UPDATE - Death toll from Taiwan earthquake soars to 10

UPDATES WITH LATEST CASUALTIES FIGURES; CHANGES LEDE, HEADER AND DECK

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - The death toll from a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that jolted Taiwan's east coast on Wednesday has risen to 10, with 38 others still missing, local media reported on Thursday.

The number of injured also soared to around 1,070, Taipei-based Central News Agency reported.

Of the 10 dead, four were killed inside Taroko National Park, a tourist attraction famous for canyons and cliffs in the mountainous Hualien County about 150 kilometers (90 miles) from Taipei.

One person was found dead in a damaged building and another was found in the Ho Ren Quarry.

Rescuers also recovered the body of a man, who had severe wounds on his head, from a hiking trail.

The epicenter of the quake was the county of Hualien, home to around 300,000 of the 23 million people who live in Taiwan.

While rescue efforts continue, 93 people were trapped in eastern parts of Hualien. The earthquake, the strongest to have hit the island nation in 25 years, caused damage to infrastructure and disturbed traffic and power supply systems in the region.

Around 2,400 people were killed in 1999 when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan in the middle of the night.

President Tsai Ing-wen deployed the military to the affected areas, with soldiers equipped with search and rescue tools besides debris-removing excavators being involved in the efforts.

Taiwan Railway Corporation said the railway line between Yilan and Hualien counties, which was closed on Wednesday after the earthquake, had reopened.

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. also resumed production late Wednesday after a brief suspension.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid and Aamir Latif