The government has said that two Indians who were reported missing after an earthquake in Taiwan are safe.
“Two persons, we were not able to establish contact in the wake of the earthquake there. But now, we have established contact and they are safe,” foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in his weekly briefing.
According to the India Taipei Association (ITA), there are around 4,000 Indians employed in the country and it is home to about 1,500 students.
The 7.4-magnitude earthquake, struck the island on Wednesday has caused 10 deaths and over 1,000 people have been injured. The maximum damage happened in Hualien, a city popular with tourists on the eastern coast of the country, damaging buildings and trapping people amid aftershocks after the quake. Dozens of aftershocks were felt on the island.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that India stood in solidarity with the people of Taiwan.
“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 posted on the X.
Taiwan, which lies near the junction of two tectonic plates, is prone to earthquakes. In 2016, over 100 people died in an earthquake in southern part of the country, while another in 1999 had killed over 2,000 people. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Taiwan and its surrounding waters have registered about 2,000 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.0 or greater since 1980, and above 100 earthquakes with a magnitude above 5.5.
The earthquake has not led to a major impact on the semiconductor industry. TSMC, a leading semiconductor manufacturer in the world and responsible for the production of most of the world’s advanced semiconductors had to evacuate its production lines, but resumed its production lines hours later.
