Dashcam video from earthquake in Taiwan crushing cars in landslide

A driver’s dashcam captured dramatic footage of large boulders falling and crushing a car on the highway between Su’ao and Hualien at the moment the 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan on Wednesday, April 3. 

The footage shows two cars slow to a stop just before 8 a.m. when the earthquake hit, after which they both reverse as large rocks fall on the road. 

A car in front of the driver with the dashcam was hit by a large rock, crushing its rear. 

Jimi Moe, an American in Taiwan, was passing by at the time of the rockfall and told Taiwan News that he drove the owner of the crushed car back to Yilan and that he was unharmed. 

Moe said the driver of the crushed car was a member of the Navy and was travelling to report for duty when he was hit. 

GPS coordinates on the dashcam footage place the cars just south of the bridge that crosses the Daqingshui River, a part of the Su’ao Highway that remains closed as of Thursday, March 4.

Police said they had rescued the occupants of 32 trapped vehicles along the section of road where the rockfall was captured, per PTS. 

The local transportation bureau said that one person died after their vehicle was crushed by falling rocks. 

Crews have been dispatched to repair the affected parts of the Su’ao Highway. 

It is expected that a temporary access road will be opened on Saturday evening, April 6, to allow traffic through.

Watch the video below.