11 dead and dozens injured in deadly Taiwan earthquake
11 people - including a 10 day old baby - have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck southern Taiwan.
Almost 250 people have been pulled from the rubble, following the collapse of several high-rise buildings in the city of Tainan (pron: tie-nan).
More than 800 soldiers have been brought in to search for survivors after the 6-point-4 magnitude quake.
At least seven people have died and dozens more were injured after a powerful earthquake struck southern Taiwan.
Rescue crews are searching for survivors after the 6.4-magnitude quake toppled a high-rise residential complex, leaving seven dead and an estimated two dozen missing.
A total of 247 survivors were pulled from the rubble in the worst-hit Tainan city, with 73 of those taken to hospital.
More than 1,200 firefighters scrambled with ladders, cranes and other equipment to the ruins of a 17-floor residential building that folded like an accordion after the powerful, shallow tremor.
Local media said the building included a care centre for newborns and mothers, with an infant among the dead in the disaster, which came two days ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations.
Most people were still asleep when the quake struck at about 4am local time. It hit some 22 miles south-east of Yujing, and struck about six miles underground, according to the US Geological Survey.
The emergency response centre said seven people were killed, including a 10-day-old infant, a small child and at least two other residents inside the high-rise. One death was caused by falling objects. No details were immediately available for the two additional deaths.
The Wei Guan residential tower was home to 256 people living in 96 units. According to the disaster response centre, 230 of them were rescued and 26 unaccounted for, although it was unclear how many people were inside the building at the time of the fall.
Dozens more people have been rescued or safely evacuated from a market and a seven-floor building that was badly damaged, the official China Central News Agency reported. A bank building also careened, but no injuries were reported.
As dawn broke, live Taiwanese TV showed survivors being brought from the high-rise, including an elderly woman in a neck brace and others wrapped in blankets. The trappings of daily life – a partially crushed air conditioner, pieces of a metal balcony, windows – lay twisted in rubble.
People with their arms around firefighters were being helped from the building, and cranes were being used to search darkened parts of the structure for survivors. Newscasters said other areas of the city are still being canvassed for possible damage.
Military personnel also took part in the rescue effort.
The disaster response centre said 1,236 rescuers were deployed, including 840 from the army, along with six helicopters and 23 rescue dogs.
The quake was felt as a lengthy, rolling shake in the capital, Taipei, on the other side of the island. But Taipei was quiet, with no sense of emergency or obvious damage just before dawn.
Residents in mainland China also reported that the tremor was felt there.
Questions are being asked if the construction crew had cut corners when building the Wei Guan residential complex, which was finished in 1989. The interior minister, Chen Wei-zen, said an investigation would examine if the developer skirted requirements.
Earthquakes frequently rattle Taiwan, but most are minor and cause little or no damage.
However, a magnitude-7.6 earthquake in central Taiwan in 1999 killed more than 2,300 people.
