Over 100 Missing 14 Dead as 6.4 Earthquake Hits Southern TaiwanBy: Annie Yager, Xiro Xone News February 06, 2016
Rescue workers search a collapsed building from an early morning earthquake in Tainan. Photo: AP
Authorities in southern Taiwan say more than 100 people are still missing after a 6.4 earthquake caused a high-rise residential building to collapse. Rescuers rushed to locate survivors after nightfall Saturday. At least 13 people were killed. Authorities say 475 people were injured, but 368 of them were discharged from hospitals by late Saturday afternoon.
CNA have said 153 people remained missing and that rescuers were racing to find them. Taiwan's SETV reported that 101 adults and 41 children were missing. The number of missing was expected to drop because some of those listed might have been listed twice, hospitalized or not in the building at the time of the quake. President Ma Ying-jeou visted a hospital and the emergency response center in Tainan before returning to the capital, Taipei, to attend a briefing on the situation. The devastating quake came just two days before the start of Lunar New Year celebrations that mark the most important family holiday in the Chinese calendar. The collapsed building had 256 registered residents, it’s possible the population might have swelled ahead of the holiday, when families typically host guests. Local media said the building included a care center for newborns and mothers, and a newborn was among those confirmed dead in the disaster. Most people were asleep when the magnitude-6.4 earthquake hit at about 4 a.m., 22 miles (35 kilometers) southeast of Yujing. It struck only 6 miles (10 kilometers) underground, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Shallow earthquakes generally cause more damage than deeper ones. The last big quake hit central Taiwan was a magnitude-7.6 quake in 1999 killed more than 2,300 people |
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