Global Affairs Canada and Taiwan’s top diplomat in Ottawa say a Canadian is missing in Taiwan after a powerful earthquake hit the island this week.
Global Affairs spokesperson Pierre Cuguen said consular officials were assisting the family and were in contact with local authorities.
He said he could not provide further details for confidentiality reasons.
Taiwan’s representative to Canada, Harry Tseng, said earlier that a Canadian was missing after Wednesday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake, while two Canadian tourists were rescued from a national park.
Mr Tseng said he had no details about the missing person, but the rescued Canadians, who were previously on a hiking trail in the Taroko Gorge, were not seriously injured.
He added that he hoped that rescue teams would be able to find the missing person by Friday.
Taiwan’s semi-official news agency, citing the Foreign Ministry, reported that a total of three Canadians were rescued from the quake zone, and a fourth remains missing.
Taiwan firefighters said on Facebook on Wednesday that two Canadians were among a group of people stranded by rockslides on a trail in Taroko National Park, a well-known hiking destination.
Taiwan’s Emergency Operations Center said the island’s strongest earthquake in 25 years left 10 people dead, 705 people trapped, 11 missing and 1,099 injured.
The epicenter was in Hualien, 150 kilometers south of Taipei.
The central news agency said an Indian national and two Australians were also missing after the quake, and 71 foreign nationals had been rescued.
“A number of representatives of foreign countries in Taiwan expressed their sincere gratitude to the Taiwan rescue teams and authorities for their tremendous support and assistance,” the statement read.
Mr. Tseng said he had been overwhelmed with messages of support and concern from Canadian officials, demonstrating the “strong solidarity between Canada and the people of Taiwan.”