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Strong quake hits Taiwan; 11 dead, dozens trapped

Rescue workers search a collapsed building after an early morning earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, on Saturday. A powerful, shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan before dawn.

TOKYO – A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit southern Taiwan at 3:57 a.m. Saturday, with the epicenter located in the city of Kaohsiung, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau.

A 16-story building containing apartments and offices collapsed, along with several other buildings, leaving 11 people dead and more than 400 people injured in Tainan, a neighboring city of Kaohsiung, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency and local media reports.

Dozens of people reportedly remained trapped inside destroyed buildings, and rescue efforts were being made.

According to CNA and other media reports, 256 residents in 96 households lived in the collapsed 16-story building in Tainan’s city center. Three people, including a 10-day-old baby and a 40-year-old man, were confirmed to be dead there, while more than 220 people have so far been rescued from the site.

Speaking at a news conference, Taiwan’s Interior Minister Chen Wei-zen indicated he will conduct an investigation to find out if there was any slipshod construction work or design errors regarding the building, which was completed in 1994.

In Tainan, eight buildings completely collapsed, while five others were half destroyed. A woman died after a water tower fell on her.

In central Yunlin County, two people were hurt by falling objects.

There have been no reports that any Japanese were hurt in the disaster, according to the Kaohsiung office of the Interchange Association, Japan, which serves as Japan’s contact organization in Taiwan.

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on Saturday visited disaster-hit Tainan to direct rescue activities in which Taiwan army personnel also took part.

The Central Weather Bureau said the earthquake’s epicenter was at a depth of 16.7 kilometers and was felt across Taiwan. It left a vast area in Tainan without power, while Taiwan’s high-speed railway operations were partially halted temporarily.

In Tainan, tearful residents were seen answering questions from local media, recalling the moment the calamity hit the southern city.

“Powerful horizontal jolts lasted for about two minutes, and I rushed to turn on the TV,” said Fumio Yamashita, deputy director of the Kaohsiung office, answering phone questions by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

A massive earthquake hit Taiwan in 1999, leaving more than 2,400 people dead. Some residents in the city told local media that they found Saturday’s earthquake stronger than that one.

A woman rescued from her room on the sixth floor of the collapsed 16-story building was interviewed by CNA. She said: “The room was filled with the smell of gas. I was so scared thinking I’ll be trapped inside and die in an explosion, or burn to death.”



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