Taiwan earthquake: Two Indians missing, search operations underway

Two Indians are reported to be missing after the earthquake that ravaged Taiwan on Wednesday. 

The missing Indians are a man and a woman, who were last seen in Taroko Gorge, close to epicentre.

Search operations are underway to locate them, per people familiar with the matter said.

At least nine people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in a quake said to be the strongest in 25 years that rocked Taiwan early in the day.

The quake's epicentre lay off the coast of rural, mountainous Hualien County, where some buildings leaned at severe angles, their ground floors crushed.

Just over 150 kilometers (93 miles) away in the capital of Taipei, tiles fell from older buildings, and schools evacuated their students to sports fields, equipping them with yellow safety helmets.

Some children were seen covering themselves with textbooks to guard against falling objects as aftershocks continued, AP reported.