Deadly earthquake hits Taiwan, 13 dead as more trapped

Rescue personnel work at the site of a collapsed building in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan on February 6, 2016 following a strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • A residential complex of four buildings containing almost 100 homes toppled.
  • The earthquake felled a 16-storey apartment complex full of families.
  • Around 800 troops have been mobilised to help the rescue effort.

TAIPEI, Saturday

A powerful earthquake in Taiwan felled a 16-storey apartment complex full of families who had gathered for Lunar New Year celebrations, with at least 13 dead and more than 30 trapped.

The death toll was rising in the historic city of Tainan, which bore the brunt of the 6.4 magnitude quake, as rescuers scoured rubble for survivors.

A residential complex of four buildings containing almost 100 homes toppled, left on its side with twisted metal girders exposed and clouds of dust rising.

Among the nine people killed when the complex collapsed were a 10-day-old baby girl and two other children, the Fire Agency said. The other two victims were killed in different parts of the city.

Officials said they were unsure how many residents may still be inside, but media reports estimated at least 30 could be trapped.

Around 800 troops have been mobilised to help the rescue effort, with sniffer dogs also searching through the rubble.

Residents at the felled 16-storey Wei-kuan Building told of their terror as the quake hit, with survivors pulled bleeding and crying from the ruins.

“I saw buildings shake up and down and left and right,” said one resident. “The first and second floor just collapsed,” he told local channel SET TV.

Another man tied his clothes together to create a rope and lowered himself from his home on the ninth floor to the sixth floor below, Apple Daily reported.

One woman told how she fought her way out of her home. “I used a hammer to break the door, which was twisted and locked, and managed to climb out,” she said.

Rescuers have freed more than 250 people from the apartment complex, with over 40 of them hospitalised.

Interior minister Chen Wei-jen said he feared there may be more people in the building than usual as family members would have returned to celebrate the Lunar New Year holidays next week.

Appeals for the missing were posted on social media.

“My friend in Wei-kuan is  missing. If anyone has related news, please get in touch,” one user called applexgreen posted on Taiwan’s popular PTT forum.

Another named Ahan asked for information on the family of three with a two-year-old son who lived on the seventh floor of the building.