Hundreds pulled from rubble
after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hits Taiwan.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Rescuers in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan pulled out 221 people from two residential high-rises that collapsed when a shallow 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck before dawn Saturday, leaving others still trapped inside.
The emergency response center said at least five people, including a 10-dayold infant, were killed.
Most people were caught asleep when temblor struck about 4 a.m. local time. It was located some 22 miles southeast of Yujing, and struck about 6 miles underground, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province, immediately offered assistance.
According to China’s office handling relations with Taiwan, mainland officials have been in touch with their Taiwanese counterparts since shortly after the quake hit Tainan.
China sent a letter offering rescue assistance if needed and expressed condolences to those who suffered in the quake.
In Tainan, firefighters and soldiers scrambled to the site with ladders, cranes and other equipment and extracted dazed survivors from the buildings that were lying on one side of the road.
Several other buildings also collapsed or were partially damaged, while dozens of people were rescued from a market and another seven-floor building, the Central News Agency reported.
As dawn broke, live Taiwanese TV showed survivors being brought gingerly from the high-rise buildings. The trappings of daily life — a partially crushed air conditioner, pieces of a metal balcony, windows — lay twisted in rubble.
Earthquakes frequently rattle Taiwan, but most cause little damage. However, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in 1999 killed more than 2,300 people.