Search Continues for Survivors of Taiwan Quake

Two survivors were Monday rescued from the rubble of an apartment complex in Taiwan felled by an natural disaster, after being trapped for more than 50 hours.

Rescuers in the southern Taiwan city of Tainan pulled a woman out alive from the wreckage of a collapsed building on Monday (Feb 8), a witness said, more than 48 hours after an quake hit the island.

Of the 37 confirmed deaths, 35 were found in the 16-story building, which folded like an accordion after the quake, exposing twisted metal girders.

The girl, named as Lin Su-Chin, was conscious and had been taken to hospital, Taiwan television stations said, adding there were possibly two other people still alive in the wrecked building.

Mr Li was eventually freed but had to have his leg amputated.

An investigation into the construction of the building was started with Tainan City Mayor William Lai saying survivors had reported “violations” in its construction.

“I was talking to my husband and told him we have to get out together”. A rescue worker had handed over a photo album and homemade cards found next to her for her family to collect, said local official Wang Ding-yu.

“We will carry on until the last second”.

More than 100 people who remain unaccounted for are believed to be buried deep under the wreckage following the disaster in which at least 38 people are known to have died. But dozens are still missing – or already among the casualties, including a 10-day old baby, one of the first reported casualties.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which makes chips for the iPhone and other products, said that it expects at least 85 percent of equipment at two plants to be restored to normal on Monday. “There are teams crawling all over inside this main building – this is where most of the casualties have occurred and most of the missing are still located – moving through floor by floor, going inside the structure”.

“When you see the aerial images around Tainan, the rest of the buildings are standing”, Elise Hu, an NPR correspondent who was in Taipei when the quake hit, told CNN.

Traditionally a time of celebration and reunion, officials say many relatives would have joined their families in the Wei-kuan complex to enjoy the holidays, upping the number inside.

Now they endure an agonising wait for news. “He is conscious and could communicate with his sister”, he said.

“I’m anxious and I will keep waiting for their news – I think rescuers are working really hard”. He said he had crawled out of a window to alert rescuers to his parents’ location, and they were all rescued soon after Saturday’s quake.