Man killed as quake hits Taiwan

A minor earthquake hit Taiwan last night, killing one man and rekindling memories of last year's quake which brought the island to its knees and left almost 2500 people dead.

Last night's quake struck at 04:25 BST and measured 5.3 on the Richter scale, according to a report from Reuters. The focal point of the quake was around 30 miles north east of the centre of the island.

It was followed by four aftershocks, one of which almost matched the intensity of the first quake, registering 5.2 on the Richter scale.

The one man who died was a construction worker who lost his footing when the tremors hit.

Last September, Taiwan suffered a massive earthquake which measured 7.3 on the Richer scale. Much of the island's industry suffered huge setbacks to production and IT producers sustained heavy damage. More than 50,000 homes were destroyed and around 2400 people were killed.

There have been no reports of other injuries in last night's quake and no comment on whether more quakes can be expected. ®