Hualien County

Hiking group attacked by hornets: 5 airlifted to hospital

NASC black hawk helicopter and ambulance
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Five members of a hiking group were airlifted to hospital after they were stung by hornets in a mountain district of Hualien County today, Thursday. The 11-member group had just departed on the first day of a planned 3-day hike to Dahui Mountain, and Nanerzi Mountain when the hornet attack occurred at around 11:00 am, 3.5 kilometers from the carpark at the trailhead near Xilin Village, Wanrong Township. The team leader used a satellite phone to make contact with emergency

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Motorcyclist dies after crashing, falling down 150-meter cliff on coastal highway

composite image of motorcycle and cliff
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A man was found dead on a beach 150 meters below his smashed motorcycle on the Su’ao-Hualien Highway this morning, January 12. According to reports in Apple Daily, and United Daily News, the 19-year-old man, named Lin, was driving from Hsinchu to his family’s home in Hualien yesterday evening, but did not show up at the expected time. Lin’s last contact was at 8:00 pm, when he said he had reached Heping Village. Early this morning, road maintenance workers called

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Taiwan’s first earthquake for 2022 a magnitude 6: some minor damage, no casualties reported

earthquake report 001 2022
Earthquakes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Rockfalls, minor damage to some buildings, and power and water cuts were reported after a magnitude 6 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County this evening, Monday, January 3. The tremblor struck at 5:46 pm, 56.7 kilometers east of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 19.4 kilometers, according to Earthquake Report 001 of the Central Weather Bureau, marking the first recorded earthquake for 2022. With a magnitude of 6 at the epicenter, the strongest level felt on land

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Search continues for hiker missing in mountains for 14 days

composite image showing missing man and search and rescue personnel
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Firefighters, aircrews, and civilian volunteers are searching for a man who was last seen when he left a group of fellow hikers in a remote mountain area of Hualien County, November 24. The 52-year-old man, named Lee, left his group of 8 hikers, and turned back on the second day of a hike, feeling that he lacked the physical stamina to keep up. The other hikers continued, and when they reached a ridgeline and had network coverage on November 27,

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South African man killed in traffic accident in Hualien County

scene of fatal accident in Hualien County
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments ,

A South African man died of his injuries after being hit by a car while riding an electric scooter in Hualien County today, Monday, December 6. A United Daily News report included a video which showed the man, reported to be in his 70s, riding through an intersection against a red light in Ji’an Township when he was hit by a car at high speed. The impact of the crash threw the man through the air for more than 10

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Water buffalo wanders onto train tracks in Hualien County

buffalo on train tracks in Hualien County, Taiwan
Animals 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Express trains were ordered to slow down, but no major delays were reported after a water buffalo wandered onto the tracks in Fuli Township, Hualien County this morning. According to Taiwan Railways Administration, the station master on duty at Dongzhu Station spotted the buffalo on the tracks as it trotted by the station platform at 6:25 am. The station master notified the local police station, and railway police stationed at Yuli. Police officers drove the buffalo off the tracks and

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Police Chief hit by car on pedestrian crossing in Hualien City

composite image of injured police officer and pedestrian crossing accident
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Police officers called to the scene of an accident in Hualien City yesterday were shocked to find their own police station chief had been hit by a car while walking on a zebra crossing. Chief Peng of the Fengchuan Police Station in the Hualien Police Precinct was hit by a taxi while crossing the road at the intersection of Guolian 4th Road and Guolian 5th Road at around 7:30 pm. Peng was returning to the station after working out at

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Police officer’s thumb reattached after drunk driver bites it off

police officer's bandaged thumb after being surgically reattached
Violent Crimes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A police officer in Hualien City had to have his thumb reattached by surgeons after a drunk driver bit it off while resisting arrest. Police on a routine patrol in Meilun District, Monday night, November 8, stopped an elderly man after he was seen going through a red light and appearing unstable while riding an electric scooter. The 71-year-old man, named Liu, refused to cooperate with a roadside alcohol breath test, claiming that he was a retired civil servant, and

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One injured after rockfall hits two motorcyclists on Central Cross-Island Highway

motorcyclist treated by paramedics after being hit by falling rocks
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Two motorcyclists were hit by falling rocks, leaving one injured, on the Central Cross-Island Highway in Taroko National Park this morning, Saturday, October 16. A 46-year-old man, named Liu, and his 44-year-old friend, named Huang, were traveling from Kaohsiung to Hualien City on heavy motorcycles when they were hit by falling rocks, some as large as one meter in diameter, at Cimu Bridge in Taroko Gorge at around 10:30 am. Liu was hit by one of the larger rocks, causing

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Runaway crane on Cross-Island Highway kills two

crane after rolling off cross-island highway
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Two women died after a crane employed on a slope repair project on the Central Cross-Island Highway in Hualien County rolled into vehicles at around noon today, September 10. Police from Xincheng sub-bureau say that vehicles were stopped at the roadworks section at the 117 kilometer mark of Provincial Highway 8 when the crane hit the cars before crashing through a guardrail and rolling off the road. According to reports this afternoon, the driver was not in the crane at

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Swarm of 30 earthquakes shakes Taiwan’s east coast this morning

earthquake map July 14, 2021
Earthquakes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A series of 27 earthquakes with the largest at magnitude 5.2 centered in Hualien County shook Taiwan’s east coast this morning but only minor damage was reported. Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said that the earthquakes are probably aftershocks from a rare double-main shock event that happened last week. Tuesday and Wednesday July 7 and 8 saw a series of 15 earthquakes with two shocks over magnitude 5 centered around Shoufong Township. At 6:52 am this morning, July 14, a

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