Global affairs spokesman 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 in Canada, Harry Tseng, said earlier that a Canadian was missing following Wednesday’s magnitude 7.2 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 rescue workers could find the missing person by Friday.

Taiwan’s semi-official news agency reported, citing the Foreign Ministry, that a total of three Canadians had been rescued from the earthquake zone and a fourth was still missing.

Taiwanese firefighters announced this on Facebook on Wednesday Two Canadians were part of a group of stranded people due to landslides on a hiking trail in Taroko National Park, a popular hiking destination.

Taiwan’s emergency operations center said the strongest earthquake to hit the island in 25 years killed 10 people, trapped 705, left 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 Taiwanese rescue teams and authorities for their tremendous support and assistance,” the statement said.

Mr Tseng said he had been inundated with messages of support and concern from Canadian officials, demonstrating the “strong solidarity between Canada and the Taiwanese people.”