The emergency center in Tainan, the worst-hit city, said Sunday that 171 people had been rescued from the building following the magnitude-6.4 quake that struck at dawn Saturday.
Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te said in TV interviews from the site of the building collapse that there was an estimated 124 still trapped, many at the bottom of the wreckage. Lai said that they had been able to rescue many people by using information from residents who got out on the possible locations of those still inside.
A man in his early 30s was pulled out from the rubble Sunday morning and able to tell rescuers his name and other information.
A man in his 60s, whose son escaped and whose daughter-in-law was in serious condition in a hospital, was trying to help rescuers pinpoint his grandsons. "My 11- and 12-year-old grandsons are still inside on the ninth floor," said the man, who only gave his surname, Huang. "I told my son not to buy an apartment here; it was suspiciously cheap."
Beside him, another man nodded in agreement as he waited for news of his own relatives on the seventh floor.
The emergency center and the city government said that 17 of the 19 confirmed deaths were from the building collapse. They said that 171 had been rescued from the building, 90 of whom were sent to a hospital. Another 104 people were rescued from other parts of the city, seven of whom received hospital treatment.
The rescued figures were lower than the city government had reported Saturday, and there was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.
The spectacular fall of the 17-story high-rise immediately raised questions about its construction, and Taiwan's interior minister said there would be an investigation. Nine other buildings in the city collapsed and five careened.
On Sunday, thousands of rescuers in red, orange, yellow and black uniforms worked on different levels of the folded building that was supported by steel pillars. Rescuer Su Yu-min said they were trying to cut through walls and pillars to go down further to try to reach people trapped in the bottom part of the rubble.
"It takes a few hours to complete a search for just one household and sometimes it takes two
The quake came two days before the start of Lunar New Year celebrations that mark the most important family holiday in the Chinese calendar.
The operators of Taiwan's high speed rail announced Sunday that the service would resume full operation from noon. The earthquake had damaged power lines near Tainan Station and caused major disruption to the system at a busy time when many people were returning home to celebrate.
Following the collapse of the residential high-rise, questions surfaced about whether construction of the 1989 structure had been shoddy. Tainan's government said the building was not listed as a dangerous structure before the quake, and the interior minister, Chen Wei-zen, said an investigation would examine whether the developer had cut corners.
Earthquakes frequently rattle Taiwan, but most are minor and cause little or no damage. However, a magnitude-7.6 quake in central Taiwan in 1999 killed more than 2,300 people.
(AP)
A baby boy is rescued from a collapsed building after an earthquake in
Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A powerful, shallow earthquake
struck southern Taiwan before dawn Saturday.
A young girl is rescued from a collapsed building after an earthquake in
Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A powerful, shallow earthquake
struck southern Taiwan before dawn Saturday.
A man breaks down after seeing the body of a relative recovered from a
collapsed building following an earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday,
Feb. 6, 2016. A powerful, shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan
before dawn Saturday.
Rescue workers search a collapsed building from an early morning
earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A powerful,
shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan before dawn Saturday.
Rescue workers remove a victim from a collapsed building from an early
morning earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A
powerful, shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan before dawn
Saturday.
Rescue workers search a collapsed building from an early morning
earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A powerful,
shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan before dawn Saturday.
Rescue workers search a collapsed building from an early morning
earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A powerful,
shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan before dawn Saturday.
In this photo taken from a drone mounted camera, rescue workers search a
collapsed building from an early morning earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan,
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A powerful, shallow earthquake struck southern
Taiwan before dawn Saturday.
In this photo taken from a drone mounted camera, rescue workers search a
collapsed building from an early morning earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan,
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A powerful, shallow earthquake struck southern
Taiwan before dawn Saturday.
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, rescuers search
for survivors at a quake site in Tainan, Taiwan Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A
powerful, shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan before dawn
Saturday.
A female is rescued from a collapsed building complex after an early
morning earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A
6.4-magnitude earthquake struck southern Taiwan early Saturday, toppling
at least one high-rise residential building and trapping people inside.
A rescue team member searches for missing people in a collapsed
building, after an early morning earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday,
Feb. 6, 2016. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck southern Taiwan early
Saturday, toppling at least one high-rise residential building and
trapping people inside.
Rescue workers search a collapsed building from an early morning
earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A powerful,
shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan before dawn Saturday.
In the early morning, emergency rescuers continue to search for the
missing in a collapsed building from an earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan,
Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. Rescuers on Sunday found signs of live within the
remains of the high-rise residential building that collapsed in a
powerful, shallow earthquake in southern Taiwan that killed over a dozen
people and injured hundreds.
Standing below a beam of exposed oil cans used to fill space in some
structures, rescuers continue to search for the missing in a collapsed
building from an earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016.
Rescuers on Sunday found signs of live within the remains of the
high-rise residential building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow
earthquake in southern Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and
injured hundreds.
Emergency rescuers continue to search for the missing in a collapsed
building from an earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016.
Rescuers on Sunday found signs of live within the remains of the
high-rise residential building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow
earthquake in southern Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and
injured hundreds.
An emergency rescue team member searches for the missing in a collapsed
building from an earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016.
Rescuers on Sunday found signs of live within the remains of the
high-rise residential building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow
earthquake in southern Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and
injured hundreds.
Emergency rescuers remove a body found in a collapsed building from an
earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. Rescuers on Sunday
found signs of live within the remains of the high-rise residential
building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow earthquake in southern
Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and injured hundreds.
In the early morning, emergency rescuers continue to search for the
missing in a collapsed building from an earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan,
Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. Rescuers on Sunday found signs of live within the
remains of the high-rise residential building that collapsed in a
powerful, shallow earthquake in southern Taiwan that killed over a dozen
people and injured hundreds.
Emergency rescuers remove a body found in a collapsed building from an
earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. Rescuers on Sunday
found signs of live within the remains of the high-rise residential
building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow earthquake in southern
Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and injured hundreds.
Emergency rescuers remove a body found in a collapsed building from an
earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. Rescuers on Sunday
found signs of live within the remains of the high-rise residential
building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow earthquake in southern
Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and injured hundreds.
Emergency rescuers continue to search for missing in a collapsed
building from an earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016.
Rescuers on Sunday found signs of live within the remains of the
high-rise residential building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow
earthquake in southern Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and
injured hundreds.
Emergency rescuers continue to search for missing in a collapsed
building from an earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016.
Rescuers on Sunday found signs of live within the remains of the
high-rise residential building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow
earthquake in southern Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and
injured hundreds.
Local residents line up for potable water after being without since
Saturday's earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. Rescuers
on Sunday found signs of live within the remains of a high-rise
residential building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow earthquake in
southern Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and injured hundreds.
Local residents line up for potable water after being without since
Saturday's earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. Rescuers
on Sunday found signs of live within the remains of a high-rise
residential building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow earthquake in
southern Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and injured hundreds.
A rescuer points to a list of the survivors found in a collapsed
building from an earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016.
Rescuers on Sunday found signs of live within the remains of the
high-rise residential building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow
earthquake in southern Taiwan that killed over a dozen people and
injured hundreds.