TAOYUAN (TVBS News) — A group of 65 Taiwanese tourists stranded in Japan due to the Ishikawa 7.6 magnitude earthquake safely returned to Taiwan Wednesday night (Jan. 3) on Starlux Airlines.
The group had been delayed in Japan for two days after the earthquake forced the closure of Niigata Airport.
Taiwanese passengers expressed that the trembling sensation from the quake, which lingered for an extended period, felt completely different and much scarier than the earthquakes they experienced in Taiwan.
Despite the lack of severe damage in the region, Chiu Mu-chung, the tour leader of the group, led the tourists to pray for safety at a shrine in the Niigata area during the New Year period.
The travel agency sent a representative to the airport to greet the returning tourists and welcomed them back with consolation meal boxes. Their safe return was considered a stroke of luck amidst the unfortunate situation.
