Taiwan earthquake: Death toll rises to 15
Taiwan
At least two are still missing and 280 people have been injured, reports said. Rescuers combed through the rubble of collapsed buildings on Wednesday, some using their hands as they searched for the missing victims
The death toll of the earthquake of magnitude 6.4 which struck near the coastal city of Hualien in Taiwan late on Tuesday has risen to 15, local media reported on Saturday.
At least two are still missing and 280 people have been injured, reports said. Rescuers combed through the rubble of collapsed buildings on Wednesday, some using their hands as they searched for the missing victims.
Two more bodies were found in a building in Hualien more than 80 hours after it partially collapsed in a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, bringing the death toll to from the Tuesday night quake to 14.
The magnitude 6.4 quake, which hit near the coastal city just before midnight (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, officials said.
The worst-hit Marshal Hotel partly crumpled into the ground, leaving it slanting on its side, as rescuers on cranes attempted to free people from its upper floors.
"It's the biggest quake I've experienced in Hualien in more than 10 years," resident Blue Hsu told media, who said his home shook violently.
Five more buildings including a hospital have also been damaged with roads strewn with rubble, cracks along highways and damaged buildings tilted at angles.