Taiwan hospital fire kills at least nine as typhoon batters island

A car moves along the shore in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, as Typhoon Krathon hit the area (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

A fire at a hospital in southern Taiwan killed at least nine people on Thursday as the island was being battered by a typhoon.

The fire occurred in Pingtung county, which has been hit hard by Typhoon Krathon, which made landfall in the afternoon with torrential rains and heavy winds and has brought parts of the island to a standstill.