TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A rescue worker says a crew is trying to free two people from a hotel whose ground floor caved after a strong earthquake hit near Taiwan's eastern coast.

The shallow, magnitude 6.4 quake that struck late Tuesday night caused at least four buildings in worst-hit Hualien county to cave in and tilt dangerously. Taiwan's Central News Agency says four people have been killed and 225 others injured, while more than 140 remain unaccounted for.

Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS said Wednesday that a rescue operation was underway at the Marshal Hotel.

One hotel employee was killed after the ground floor caved in. A rescue worker told TVBS that rescuers were working to save two other employees as family members waited nearby.