TAIPEI: Death toll reached to 19 in Taiwan quake and more than 130 people were still trapped in the rubbles.
Rescuers in Taiwan pulled a young man alive from a collapsed apartment tower on Sunday more than 24 hours after a strong earthquake shook the island and kept searching for more than 130 people believed trapped in the ruins of the building.
The 20-year-old was identified by Taiwan media as Huang Kuang-wei. He was taken to the hospital.
Firefighters, police, soldiers and volunteers combed through the ruins, some using their hands, watched anxiously by dozens of the victims’ family members who wore thick jackets, woolen hats and scarves on a chilly morning.
“Nothing matters but to get her out. The lady living across the hallway was rescued yesterday. I know they will find her, but I have also planned for the worst. It’s been more than 20 hours now.”
At least 19 people are known to have died in the quake, which struck at about 4 a.m. on Saturday, at the beginning of a Lunar New Year holiday, including 16 found in the collapsed Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building in the southern city of Tainan.
A total of 132 people are still beneath the rubble of the commercial-residential block, said a city government official surnamed Chen, with all but about 30 of them trapped deep in the wreckage.
The building’s lower floors pancaked on top of each other in the 6.4 magnitude quake and then the whole structure toppled.
