Taipei, 4 April 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The number of people confirmed to have been injured in Taiwan's worst earthquake in 25 years has risen to 1,050, authorities said on Thursday.

Authorities also reported that a small group of six miners who were trapped have been brought to safety.

The men were brought out of the disaster area by helicopter, the authorities announced on Thursday morning. A further 64 workers were still trapped in another quarry.

There were initially no updates regarding dozens of other people trapped, including hikers in mountain caves and trails and people in vehicles in tunnels. On Thursday morning, there was also no mention of further deaths beyond the nine confirmed victims.

The quake struck Taiwan on Wednesday morning during rush hour and was felt across the entire island, which has a population of more than 23 million.

Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) said the 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck at 7:58 am Wednesday (2358 GMT Tuesday) at a depth of 15.5 kilometres. The epicentre was a few kilometres off the east coast near the city of Hualien, which was hit particularly hard.

On Thursday, the emergency control centre plans to provide information on further developments, while rescue and clean-up work continues in the affected areas.

Taiwan's Prime Minister Chen Chien-jen has declared the county around Hualien as a disaster area. The Ministry of Defence and the fire brigade intend to search the area with reconnaissance drones for missing persons and people in distress.

MIA file photo