The death toll has risen to 12 after powerful quakes hit Hualien County, China's Taiwan region this week, local authorities said on Friday after two more bodies were recovered on a hiking trail earlier in the morning.

The identities of the two will be verified later and so far 16 people remain missing. 

At 7:58 a.m. on Wednesday, a magnitude 7.3 quake jolted the sea area near Hualien County in Taiwan which was followed by hundreds of aftershocks in the past few days. 

The quakes have left over 1,100 people injured with rescuers still trying to locate those unaccounted for.