Rescuers pull 170+ from Taiwan quake rubble

According to Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te, the rescuers were able to trace many people despite the building’s unrecognizable appearance by asking information from residents about the possible locations of those who were still trapped inside.

Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the collapse of the building, the only high-rise in the southern city to crumble completely.

Now they endure an agonising wait for news. “The building essentially collapsed onto itself”, NPR correspondent Elise Hu, who was in Tainan, told CNN. Many other buildings are unsafe, forcing people who lived or worked in them to leave.

Another woman, Chien, her three-year-old daughter and her husband were in their bedroom in Tainan -Taiwan’s oldest city – when the natural disaster struck.

A woman had also been freed earlier, according to rescuers. Taiwan’s government said in a statement 33 of the 35 dead where from that Wei-guan building, with 117 still listed as missing.

Emergency workers are searching for five other members of her family trapped inside.

“I was lucky I was among the first to be found but I lost my baby”, she said, saying that she was now just “hoping for miracles”.

While Taiwan frequently gets rattled by earthquakes, most are minor and cause little to no damage.

The man, identified as Li Tsung-tian, was conscious and talking to rescuers as he descended from the toppled building, in Yongkang district of Tainan city, via a crane, Xinhua reported.

Japanese Cabinet Chief Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced Monday that Japan will donate US$1 million via its Red Cross to Taiwan to help with post-earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and often sees tremors.

He was rushed to hospital for treatment but may have to undergo amputation for injuries on the left leg.

Rescuers had detected life within the area where the 16th-floor apartment of her son and his family was thought to be, and reportedly heard the sound of a child. “I was so afraid”.

Since the quake hit on Saturday, the death toll has risen to 38, with over 100 people still unaccounted for.

The quake struck as many in Taiwan prepared to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

The extended Lunar New Year holiday officially started on Monday, but celebrations were subdued.

Liu said they plunged several stories from the ninth floor of the 16-story block and her legs were pinned down by bricks.