Taiwan quake: Man pulled out alive from rubbles, survivor search continues

More than 24 hours after a deadly earthquake hit Taiwan, a young man has been pulled alive from a toppled, high-rise apartment block.

The 20-year-old is one of the lucky ones.

Rescuers are still searching for more than 130 other people, believed trapped in the rubble in Tainan.

A powerful earthquake in Taiwan measuring 6.4 is reported to have caused the collapse of residential buildings https://t.co/2EbLkjuxSX

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) February 5, 2016

“On the ninth floor of the B building, we’ve found a man. Right now we’re in the midst of digging through the debris. He was buried by the wall when it collapsed,” said Xie Genzhou, search and rescue team captain.

Most of the dead have been found in the collapsed apartment block. The building’s lower floors pancaked on top of each other when the tremor hit, and then the whole structure came down.

And for relatives of those missing, these are anxious times.

“We have two apartments on the sixth and eighth floor, that means they are in the deeper parts of the debris. Our rescue schedule will be slower than others, it can’t be fast;” said Yue Qing-Sheng, who is waiting for news on the missing.

Dozens of relatives have gathered where emergency teams are working in Tainan, clinging to the hope that their loved ones will also be brought out of the rubble alive.