Taiwan earthquake death toll likely to exceed 100

Rescuers have pulled two survivors from the rubble of a Taiwanese apartment block more than 48 hours after it was toppled by an earthquake, but the mayor of Tainan has warned the death toll is likely to exceed 100.

The official death toll from the quake had risen to 38 by Monday, but more than 100 people were still missing.

The quake struck at 4am on Saturday, at the beginning of the lunar new year holiday, and most of the dead were found in the toppled Wei-guan Golden Dragon building in Tainan.

Rescue efforts were focused on the wreckage of the 17-storey building, where 117 people were listed as missing and suspected to be buried deep under the rubble. Wang Ting-yu, a politician who represents the area, told reporters that a woman, Tsao Wei-ling, was found alive under her dead husband. Their two-year-old son, who was also killed, was found nearby.A man, Li Tsung-tian, was pulled out later on Monday, with Taiwanese television stations showing live images of the rescues. Several hours later, Li’s girlfriend was found dead in the rubble.

The mayor of Tainan, William Lai, said during a visit to a funeral home that rescue efforts had entered the “third stage”.

“There are more fatalities than those pulled out [alive], and the number of fatalities will probably exceed 100,” Lai said in comments carried on the United Daily News website.

Rescuers continued to scramble over the twisted wreckage of the building as family members waited for news of missing relatives. Lin Tong-meng said he had been waiting at the site for word of his 11- and 12-year-old nephews.

“I came back and forth all yesterday and now I’m here again,” Lin said. The boy’s mother and father were rescued soon after the quake. Their father stood nearby, pacing close to the rubble in tears.

Taiwan’s government said in a statement that 36 of the 38 dead were from the Wei-guan building, which was built in 1994. The president-elect, Tsai Ing-wen, said there needed to be a “general sorting out” of old buildings to ensure they were able to cope with earthquakes. “There needs to be a continued strengthening of their ability to deal with disasters,” she said.

The outgoing president, Ma Ying-jeou, told reporters at a hospital in the southern city that the government needed to do a better job in ensuring building quality.

“In the near future, regarding building management, we will have some further improvements. We will definitely do this work well,” Ma said.

Witnesses of the collapse said they saw large, rectangular cans of cooking oil packed inside wall cavities that had been exposed by the damage, apparently having been used as building materials.

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, conveyed his condolences to the victims, the state news agency Xinhua reported late on Sunday, and repeated Beijing’s offer to provide help.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/08/taiwan-earthquake-death-toll-likely-to-exceed-100