'Deeply Grateful': Taiwan President Responds After PM Modi Sends Solidarity Message To Quake-Hit Families

India stands in solidarity with the resilient people of Taiwan as they endure the aftermath of the earthquake, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday as he expressed grief over the loss of lives in the calamity.

This message of solidarity comes a few hours after at least nine people were killed and more than 1000 injured Wednesday by a powerful earthquake in Taiwan that damaged dozens of buildings and prompted tsunami warnings.

“Deeply saddened by the loss of lives due to earthquakes in Taiwan today. Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured. We stand in solidarity with the resilient people of Taiwan as they endure the aftermath and recover from it,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

‘Grateful for your kind words’

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen responded to PM Modi’s message and said, “We are deeply grateful for your kind words and support, @narendramodi, at this challenging time. Your solidarity means a great deal to the people of Taiwan as we all work toward a swift recovery.” Other world leaders including Japan’s Fumio Kishida and Philippines’ Bongbong Marcos also expressed solidarity with the leader of the democratic island.

Dozens of people were believed safe but unreachable in areas cut off by massive landslides triggered by the quake — many in tunnels that cut through the mountains that bisect the island from north to south. Officials said the quake was the strongest to shake the island in decades, and warned of more tremors in the days ahead. Strict building regulations and widespread public disaster awareness appear to have staved off a major catastrophe for the earthquake-prone island, which lies near the junction of two tectonic plates.

Wu Chien-fu, director of Taipei’s Central Weather Administration’s Seismology Center, said the quake was the strongest since one of 7.6-magnitude struck in September 1999, killing around 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history. Wednesday’s magnitude-7.4 quake hit just before 8:00 am local time, with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) putting the epicentre 18 kilometres south of Taiwan’s Hualien City, at a depth of 34.8 kilometres.

Three people among a group of seven on an early-morning hike through the hills that surround the city were crushed to death by boulders loosened by the earthquake, officials said. The National Fire Agency did not immediately offer details on the other deaths but said all the fatalities had been in Hualien county, adding that 946 people had been injured without specifying how seriously.

Dramatic images were shown on local TV of multi-storey structures in Hualien and elsewhere tilting after the quake ended, while a printing warehouse in New Taipei City crumbled. The main roads leading to the city pass through an extensive series of strongly built tunnels and officials said dozens of people could be trapped in vehicles inside. Dozens of miners were also out of reach at a quarry in Hualien. Engineers were also working to repair the main railway track that runs south from the capital down the eastern seaboard, which had been cut off in several places.

(With agency inputs)