Taiwan ends search and rescue after M6.5 quake

Search and rescue efforts for survivors of a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that rattled Taiwan's Hualien County were terminated Sunday morning, Fu Kun-chi, head of Hualien, announced.

Photo taken on February 9, 2018 shows the collapsed building in quake-hit Hualien County, southeast China's Taiwan. [Photo: VCG]

The bodies of the two remaining Chinese mainland tourists who had been trapped in the tilted Yun Men Tusi Ti Building were not recovered. The families of the victims agreed to stop the rescue effort.

Workers have been evacuated and local authorities plan to topple the damaged Yun Men Tusi Ti building.

The deadly earthquake claimed the lives of 17 people and injured 285.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the earthquake jolted waters near Hualien at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday.