Search for survivors called off in Taiwan as death toll rises to 116
Print Edition
RESCUERS in Taiwan pulled out the remains of the final victims of the earthquake on February 6 and with a minute’s silence ended the search with the death toll of 116, most of them residents of a collapsed high-rise apartment building.
All but two of the dead lived in the 16-story Weiguan Golden Dragon complex in Tainan, which toppled when the 6.4 magnitude quake struck the city on February 6.
City Mayor Lai Ching-te on Saturday bowed deeply and thanked the rescuers for their work, and called for a minute’s silence for the victims.
A total of 270 people in the building survived.
Of those, 95 were able to escape and 175 were rescued from the rubble, according to the latest figures released by the city government.
Authorities believe one person still unaccounted for was homeless and not in the residential compound at the time of the quake.
Local police said that they have reclassified the person’s status as missing.
The building’s developer Lin Ming-hui and two architects have been detained on suspicion of negligent homicide following accusations that Lin’s company cut corners in the construction.
At the scene of the collapsed building, tin cans could be seen inside the walls exposed by the quake, apparently having been used as building material.
Polystyrene was also found to have been mixed in with the concrete.
After the tremor, local authorities started to evaluate damaged buildings reported by residents in Tainan.
As of 4pm on Saturday, more than 120 buildings had been evaluated as not suitable for people for occupation.
Meanwhile, the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits has set up a 5 million yuan (US$765,000) fund to help those affected by the quake.
The funding was donated to the island’s Red Cross Society yesterday via the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation.
The money was raised with the support of religious groups, commercial enterprises, local governments and the public.
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