Thousands of Taiwanese rescue and military personnel worked nervously Saturday hoping to locate scores of people missing in a magnitud...
A 10-day-old infant was among 14 killed in the temblor that collapsed several buildings, including a 17-story high rise.
There were more than 250 residents in the residential building. the baby girl was found in her dead father's arms. The building folded like an accordion onto its side,
About 340 people were rescued but more than 100 remained missing in Tainan. Water supplies were cut off to 400,000 residents and high-speed rail service was halted to the southern half of the island,
The disaster occurred two days before the Lunar New Year celebration. Authorities fear many of the buildings had higher occupancy rates as families gathered ahead of the holiday. At least nine buildings collapsed,
Rescuers pulled out 34 people from another high rise with 16 floors and 150 families. Gas leaks and water pipe ruptures were reported throughout the city. Sirens wailed as authorities responded to the quake.
The quake struck about 4 a.m. local time Saturday and was felt as far away as mainland China. U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Paul Caruso told that the quake was relatively shallow at six miles underground and thus capable of causing greater damage. It was located some 22 miles southeast of Yujing.
In the capital of Taipei on the other side of the island, the quake was felt as a lengthy, rolling shake. Taipei was quiet, with no sense of emergency or obvious damage.
The center of the earthquake was located about 15 miles from Pingtung, in southern Taiwan, according to the USGS. The city government there set up an emergency response center and urged onlookers not to block emergency crews, China Post reported.
There were at least four sharp aftershocks, the newspaper said.
