Death toll from Taiwan quake rises to 116

The death toll from Taiwan's earthquake a week ago has risen to 116 with one still missing in the collapsed Weiguan Golden Dragon residential complex.

taiwan earthquake

The death toll continues to rise after a quake in Taiwan. (Taiwan news) Source: SBS World News

Rescuers have pulled out 116 dead a week since a powerful earthquake struck Taiwan's oldest city of Tainan, leaving only one missing in the rubble of a collapsed 17-storey residential complex, authorities say.

All but two of the dead were found at the ruins of the Weiguan Golden Dragon complex, which toppled when the 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck last Saturday just ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

A total of 327 people in the building survived.

According to Taiwan's Interior Ministry, workers extracted scores more bodies on Friday and Saturday morning. One person is still unaccounted for.

Authorities have detained the building's developer Lin Ming-hui and two architects this week on suspicion of negligent homicide amid accusations his firm cut corners in the construction.

Tainan city officials say they will inspect several dozen other developments built by Lin, as well as other buildings in the Weiguan compound that did not collapse.

Earthquakes frequently strike Taiwan, but usually cause little or no damage, particularly since more stringent building regulations were introduced following a magnitude-7.6 quake in 1999 that killed more than 2300.


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Source: AAP


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