Rescue personnel work at the site where a 17 -storey apartment building collapsed after
an earthquake hit Tainan, southern Taiwan February 7, 2016.
Reutersfl'yrone Siu
TAINAN, Taiwan Rescuers pulled out alive an eight-year-old girl and her aunt from the
rubble of a Taiwan apartment block on Monday, more than 60 hours after it was toppled
by a quake, as the mayor Of the southern city Of Tainan warned the death toll could
exceed 100.
The official death toll from the quake rose to 38, with more than 100 people missing.
The girl, named as Lin Su-Chin, was conscious and had been taken to hospital, Taiwan
television stations said. Her aunt, Chen Mei-jih, was rescued shortly after.
The quake struck at about 4 a.m. on Saturday (2000 GMT Friday) at the beginning of the
Lunar New Year holiday, with almost all the dead found in Tainan's toppled Wei-guan
Golden Dragon Building.
Rescue efforts are focused on the wreckage Of the 17-storey building, where more than
100 people are listed as missing and are suspected to be buried deep under the rubble.
Earlier, Wang Ting-yu, a legislator who represents the area, told reporters that a woman,
identified as Tsao Wei-ling, was found alive, lying under her dead husband. Their two-
year-old son, who was also killed, was found nearby.
Another survivor, a man named Li Tsung-tian, was pulled out later, with Taiwan
television stations showing live images of the rescues. Several hours later, Li's girlfriend was found dead in the rubble.
Tsao and Li were both being treated in hospital.
Tainan Mayor William Lai said during a visit to a funeral home that rescue efforts had
entered what he called the "third stage".
"There are more fatalities than those pulled out (alive), and the number of fatalities will
probably exceed 100," Lai told reporters.
Rescuers continued to scramble over the twisted wreckage of the building as numbed
family members stood around, waiting for news Of missing relatives.
Taiwan's government said in a statement 36 Of the 38 dead were from the Wei-guan
building, which was built in 1994.
President-elect Tsai Ing-wen, who won election last month, said there needed to be a
"general sorting out" of old buildings to make sure they were able to cope with disasters
like earthquakes.
"There needs to be a continued strengthening Of their ability to deal with disasters," she
said.
Outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou, speaking to reporters at a Tainan hospital, said the
government needed to be 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.
Reuters witnesses at the scene of the collapse saw large rectangular, commercial cans of
cooking-oil packed inside wall cavities exposed by the damage, apparently having been
used as building material.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also conveyed condolences to the victims, state news
agency Xinhua reported late on Sunday, and repeated Beijing's offer to provide help.
China views self-ruled Taiwan as a wayward province, to be bought under its control by
force if necessary.
Response: This article talks about the recent earthquake in Taiwan and how devastating it was.
The death toll continues to rise and they are anticipating the final toll to be
more than 100, mostly from one building. The building seems to have been built in
a careless and unsafe manor which caused so much devastation. The article does
not seem to have much of a bias and the author seems to present the facts and
numbers well. I think that having this earthquake in Taiwan will cause the
government to make a change to their buildings and make sure they are much more
prepared if something as catastrophic as this ever happens again.
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