Taiwan earthquake: Memorial service held to honor 17 victims at Hualien county

Hualien: A memorial service is being held for the 17 people who died after a strong earthquake hit Taiwan’s east coast last week.

The magistrate of worst-hit Hualien county spoke at Monday’s noon ceremony at a local funeral parlor. Members of the military and police force, religious group volunteers and city workers paid their respects before a row of the victims’ framed photographs.

The attendees stepped into the memorial hall in turn, bowing and placing white flowers before the photos.

Taiwan’s official Central News Agency says the deceased include nine mainland Chinese, one Philippine national and two Canadians.

The shallow, magnitude 6.4 quake last Tuesday also injured 280 people after several mid-sized buildings were left tilting at dangerously sharp angles.