Taipei – The death toll from Saturday’s earthquake in southern Taiwan rose to 40 Tuesday with more than 110 people still missing as the critical 72-hour “golden window” for finding survivors passed.
Rescuers deployed heavy machinery in a renewed effort to locate more than 100 people trapped in the rubble of a Taiwan apartment complex.
More than 210 have been pulled from the 16-story Wei-kuan building – the only high-rise in the southern city of Tainan to crumble completely when the 6.4 magnitude quake struck before dawn Saturday, killing more than 40 people.
But the city government and rescuers estimated more than 100 others could still be buried in the rubble.
Tainan mayor William Lai ordered rescuers to start using diggers and extractors to remove giant concrete slabs to better detect signs of life, which they have found in three different areas.
“It’s approaching the 73rd hour and relatives are getting more anxious as time passes by and expect more. They hope the rescue team can make further moves,” he said at the scene early Tuesday.
Use of heavy machinery had been repeatedly delayed after rescuers detected signs of life in upper parts of the toppled structure.
There have been some dramatic rescues, including a eight-year-old girl and three others pulled from the wreckage Monday.
While the rescue operation was underway, the island was jolted by a 4.9-magnitude quake off the eastern city of Hualien city, but no damage or casualties were reported.
President Ma Ying-jeou said Monday there was still hope of survivors, even beyond the 72-hour window.
“We will carry on until the last second. The golden 72 hours of rescue is the standard but there are many exceptions,” said Ma after visiting two survivors in hospital with bone fractures.
Emergency response officials are racing against time to discover more survivors believed to be trapped in the Weiguan Jinlong apartment complex, a block of nearly 300 units that collapsed on its side.
Rescuers using cranes, dogs and electronic devices searched for survivors Tuesday in a high-rise apartment complex in southern Taiwan that was toppled three days earlier by a powerful earthquake.
The death toll in Saturday’s disaster stood at 40, while 320 people had been rescued, the Tainan city government said on its official website.
More than 100 people are believed to still be under the debris following the tragedy that struck during the most important family holiday in the Chinese calendar – the Lunar New Year.
All but two of the casualties in the quake were recorded in the collapse of Tainan’s Weiguan Golden Dragon 17-story complex. Although the shallow 6.4-magnitude quake was potentially devastating, few buildings were damaged as a result of strict construction standards in force on an island that is frequently struck by quakes.
Most of those who survived were rescued in the hours immediately after the quake, in which the building collapsed onto itself before toppling.
Five survivors were believed to have been pulled out on Sunday, and at least four on Monday. One of them, Tsao Wei-ling, called out “Here I am’’ as rescuers dug through to find her.
Family members of the missing flooded into the information center in search of their loved ones or to wait anxiously. Tensions rose as some relatives, losing patience, demanded to speak to rescue workers directly to get the latest information.
FILIPINO CASUALTIES
The number of Filipino casualties from the magnitude 6.4 earthquake, which devastated Taiwan during the weekend has now risen to seven, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.
However, reports received by the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan last Monday showed at least 13 Filipino workers sustained injuries during the quake. MECO Executive Director Antonio Basilio said the injured Filipinos were sent home after treatment of their injuries. However, a report received by Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz showed that only four Filipino casualties were discharged from a medical facility where they were treated.
Baldoz, citing a report from the Labor Center in Taiwan, disclosed the affected overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were immediately given treatment at a hospital.
“Our Labor Center in Taipei headed by Labor Representative Atty. Lyn Perez is on top of the situation. She had already reported that she and Welfare Officer Eric Roldan are attending to four OFWs who were injured and to three OFWs who suffered trauma from the earthquake,” Baldoz said.
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