Wednesday, March 23, 2011

NZ police confirm death of Taiwan national in quake

Taipei, March 23 (CNA) New Zealand police confirmed Wednesday that a Taiwan national had been killed in the Feb. 22 earthquake in Christchurch.

Lee Hsin-hung, a 32-year-old female from Taiwan, and three Chinese nationals were among seven more people confirmed dead in the quake, according to a press release issued by New Zealand police.

This brought the total number of confirmed deaths to 155. New Zealand police had earlier estimated a death toll of 182.

Lee had been listed as missing since Feb. 22 when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Canterbury region in New Zealand's South Island.

She was reportedly a student at King's Education language school, which was located in the Canterbury Television (CTV) Building that collapsed in the quake.

James Chang, a spokesman for Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declined to comment on Lee's death, citing her family's right to privacy. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc