Fire authorities said they were slowly evacuating those trapped in tunnels near Hualien city. But they lost contact with 50 travellers aboard 4 minibuses heading to a national park.
Thousands of army personnel, firefighters and police officers from across the country have been dispatched to the worst-hit area in the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture.
Gansu province was the worst affected with over 200,000 homes wrecked, 145,000 people displaced, 117 killed and 781 wounded in the province, as of 22 December.
Rescue and relief efforts underway and a working group has been dispatched to assess the impact of the disaster, with the number of missing people in the quake’s aftermath unknown.
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the western area of Jajarkot. Officials fear the death toll could rise as they were unable to establish contact in the hilly area near the epicentre.
IAF is fine with accepting the aircraft with 'must-haves', even if some other steps remain pending, which may take at least another year, it is learnt.
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