Hundreds more evacuated from villages

President Chen Shui-bian postponed a trip to Latin America for one day and travelled to the area, pledging government support for |hose hit by the disaster and consoling grieving relatives.

But hope was fading for at least 12 people feared buried beneath tons of rock and mud in Tochang village in the northern county of Hsinchu as dozens of rescue volunteers continued their search.

"Without heavy machines it will be very difficult to find the victims buried under the tons of rocks and mud," a local official told AFP.

About 700 people had already been evacuated from the area on Saturday by helicopter after mudslides destroyed roads to isolated villages and virtually wiped Tochang off the map.

At least 14 people were killed and 21 people are still missing since Typhoon Aere battered northern Taiwan this week before landing in southeastern China.