Taipei  - Taiwan's Foreign Minister Francisco Ou offered his resignation for turning down foreign aid after the island was hit by Typhoon Morakot, which left nearly 700 people dead, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The rejection caused a delay in rescue efforts, resulting in higher casualties.

President Ma Ying-jeou rejected Ou's resignation, tendered earlier this week, most likely on grounds of a planned cabinet reshuffle in September, the China Times said.

The paper quoted unnamed sources as saying that Ou seems to take blame instead of the National Security Council, as the decision to reject foreign aid must have come from the council.

Typhoon Morakot hit south Taiwan on August 8. As of Tuesday, the storm has left 461 dead and 192 missing, with most of the victims killed by mudslides.

Apart from Ou, the deputy foreign minister, defence minister and the cabinet secretary-general offered to resign following mounting criticism over the government's slow response to the disaster.

Taiwan estimates that total losses caused by the typhoon could top 110 billion Taiwan dollars (3.3 billion US dollars). (dpa)