
A hotel has collapsed in eastern Taiwan after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked the island late on Tuesday, with two hotel staff reported dead and over 180 injured.

The quake hit at 11.50pm (3.50pm GMT) around 13 miles northeast of the port city Hua-lien, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Images on local television showed the Marshal Hotel in Hua-lien slanted on its side, partially crumpled into the ground.

Local media reported a number of buildings had toppled with around 30 people potentially trapped in the collapsed hotel, with others crawling to safety or being evacuated.

Emergency vehicles are pictured at the scene with the building in the background slanted at a precarious angle. The Marshal Hotel has partially collapsed with two hotel workers killed

A man climbs a ladder over rubble at the damaged Marshal Hotel in Hua-lien, on the east coast of Taiwan, following the earthquake

Collapse: The hotel is pictured less than an hour after the earthquake hit the island nation off the coast of China

A damaged vehicle stands in rubble outside the Marshal Hotel in Hua-lien. Two people have died with more than 140 injured

A woman leaves the damaged Marshal Hotel in Hua-lien, helped by emergency workers holding ladders to the window

A Taiwan military C-130 transport plane prepares to take off from a Taipei airport to rush rescue workers and supplies to Hua-lien

Military personnel are pictured as they load up the plane with supplies and relief goods to send to the disaster zone

Rescue workers are pictured as they search through rubble and help people evacuate from the Marshal Hotel in Hua-lien

Taiwanese people look at the earthquake's remarkable impact in this picture released by Hua-lien County Fire Bureau

Images on local television showed the Marshal Hotel in Hua-lien slanted on its side, partially crumpled into the ground

Costumers escaped from the damaged Marshal Hotel stay outside with blankets following the devastating earthquake

Destruction: The hotel collapsed after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan late on Tuesday

Rescue workers with ropes and emergency equipment are seen searching the area around the damaged Marshal Hotel

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes

Pictures posted on social media show the entire hotel leaning to one side as emergency services evacuate people from inside.

Several buildings in Hua-lien were tilting or caved in, according to the country's official Central News Agency.

The agency also posted photos of a road fractured in several parts, with a video shared on Facebook showing road tarmac popping up after the earthquake.

Taiwanese media reported that in addition to the cave-in on the ground floor of the Marshal Hotel, a separate hotel called the Beautiful Life Hotel is also tilting.

The agency quoted a spokesman of Taiwan's Executive Yuan, the governing cabinet's office, as saying that search teams from other areas were headed to Hua-lien.

Citing the national fire agency, Taiwan's cabinet said another hotel had also been damaged.

Preliminary information suggests the quake, striking a city which is home to about 100,000 people, was about six miles deep.

Two guests, one of them carrying two suitcases, are escorted by rescue workers from the damaged Marshal Hotel

Witnesses stand on the street outside the collapsing hotel, while other lower buildings seem undamaged by the earthquake

President of Taiwan Tsai Ingwen, sitting at the head of the table, is pictured holding an emergency meeting in Taipei

The surface of a road in Hua-lien, eastern Taiwan, popped up after the earthquake with a number of bridges and roads damaged

Several buildings in Hua-lien were tilting or caved in, according to the country's official Central News Agency, which also posted photos showing a road fractured in several parts

Rescue workers are seen using a ladder to help someone climb from a window as they respond to the earthquake

Several buildings in Hua-lien were tilting or caved in, according to the Central News Agency.

Port city Hua-lien is one of Taiwan's most popular tourist hubs as it lies on the picturesque east coast rail line and is near to popular Taroko Gorge.

Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen said rescuers from around the island were preparing to help.

'We will get into disaster relief work at the fastest speed,' she said in a post on her Facebook page.

Another video shared on Twitter showed emergency workers using ladders to rescue people from a pile of rubble, while in another clip they were shining torches on the collapsed part of the hotel.

On Sunday, another five shallow tremors struck within two hours of each other in the same area off Taiwan's east coast.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.

The island's worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.

Pictures on social media showed how the earthquake had damaged property indoors with crockery falling off tables

Shaken: Images posted on social media show emergency services carrying out evacuations of the hotel in Taiwan

A photo taken at an angle shows how the entire building is leaning to one side, with 30 people reportedly trapped

In this image from TV, emergency services attend the scene after a building collapsed on its side, as a man climbs a ladder to gain access to the building

Pictures show the aftermath of the earthquake with people in the streets inspecting the damage to roads and buildings