Taiwan quake: young man pulled alive from rubble, as survivor search continues

[webfact]

Taiwan quake: young man pulled alive from rubble, as survivor search continues

"On the ninth floor of the B building, we've found a man. Right now we're in the midst of digging through the debris. He was buried by the wall when it collapsed"

TAIPEI: -- More than 24 hours after a deadly earthquake hit Taiwan, a young man has been pulled alive from a toppled, high-rise apartment block.

The 20-year-old is one of the lucky ones.

Rescuers are still searching for more than 130 other people, believed trapped in the rubble in Tainan.

On the ninth floor of the B building, weve found a man. Right now were in the midst of digging through the debris. He was buried by the wall when it collapsed, said Xie Genzhou, search and rescue team captain.

Weve already broken up the wall, and were digging in two areas.

Most of the dead have been found in the collapsed apartment block. The buildings lower floors pancaked on top of each other and then the whole structure came down.

We have two apartments on the sixth and eighth floor, that means they are in the deeper parts of the debris. Our rescue schedule will be slower than others, it cant be fast; said Yue Qing-Sheng, who is waiting for news on the missing.

Dozens of relatives have gathered where emergency teams are working in Tainan, clinging to the hope that their loved ones will also be brought out of the rubble alive.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-02-08

[kotsak]

In other news: "Taiwan investigates building toppled in quake after oil cans spotted in its pillars"

http://mashable.com/2016/02/07/taiwan-earthquake-oil-cans/#KOrnN6qDWgq3

[Tywais]

Rescuers pull children from earthquake rubble

[Tywais]

18 dead after magnitude-6.4 earthquake shocks Taiwan

(CNN)At least 18 people were killed and more than 500 were injured Saturday morning when a magnitude-6.4 earthquake hit Taiwan, the official Central News Agency reported.

More than 350 people were rescued from damaged structures, many from a 16-story residential building that collapsed in Tainan, officials told CNN. At least 16 of the dead were from the Weiguan Jinlong building, CNA said.

As of Saturday night, dozens of children were among at least 153 people still unaccounted for in Tainan, CNA reported, citing the local fire department. A cold wave moving into the area added to their sense of urgency.

CNA reported earlier that a 10-day-old girl and a 40-year-old man had been killed in Tainan.

More than 60 people in the city remain hospitalized, disaster officials said.

Seven other buildings in Tainan were damaged.

"This was strong enough to not only be felt here in the [Taiwanese] capital city of Taipei but also in the southern provinces of China," Elise Hu, an NPR correspondent who was in Taipei when the quake hit, said in an interview with CNN. "Taiwan is very used to earthquakes and tremors, but this is far more significant than the island has seen in quite a while."

More here - http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/06/asia/taiwan-earthquake/

-- CNN February 07, 2016