TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A married couple from Singapore, traveling with Australian passports, are still missing in Taroko National Park four days after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan on Wednesday (April 3).
The couple, Sim Hwee Kok and Niew Siew Choo, were seen boarding a Hualien bus at about 6:30 a.m. to enter the mountainous Taroko National Park, reported UDN. Footage recovered from the bus was released on Sunday (April 7), which shows the couple alighting from the bus at 7:20 a.m., forty minutes before the quake struck.
The bus they boarded was headed to Tianxiang Village, the largest community inside the national park. However, footage from the bus shows that they got off the bus halfway along the route near Shakadang Trail head for sightseeing.
The bus driver and other bus passengers are safe and accounted for, but the search for the Singaporean couple continues. Rescue crews were searching the area on Sunday for any trace of the missing couple and asking for anyone who may have spotted them on Wednesday morning for assistance.
Reports indicated that 8 other Singaporeans were among those rescued in Hualien in the 24 hours following the initial quake. The Singaporean couple are reportedly two of three people still missing in the national park, reported UDN.