Two people have been killed after an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale rocked Taiwan on May 1st. The tremor hit with an epicentre 7.4 kilometres west of the Hualian county.

Fire department officials said the victims were found in a van, crushed by a large rock rolling down a mountain at the Taroko Gorge, a popular tourist spot in eastern Hualian County.

Traffic to the scenic spot was partially halted by landslides. The tremor hit at 4pm local time with an epicentre 7.4 kilometres west of the county.

The island suffered its worst earthquake in a century on September 21, 1999, when one measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck central Taiwan, leaving 2,400 people dead.

The Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits has sent a letter of condolences to victims of the quake.