Taiwan earthquake: Man pulled out alive from rubble of high-rise apartment building

At least 20 people are confirmed dead with 124 people still missing after an earthquake struck the Taiwanese city of Tainan, but survivors are still be found and rescued. TV crews filmed rescuers pulling out 20-year-old Huang Kuang-wei from a collapsed 17-storey block of flats, as his family and emergency workers cheered.

On Sunday, 7 February, rescuers are trying to cut through walls and pillars in the collapsed building to reach people trapped inside. A six-month-old baby girl was also rescued after more than 30 hours under the ruins of the building and was taken to hospital.

Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te said many of those still missing are buried deep in the ruins of the apartment block. Among the dead was a newborn baby. Around 500 people were injured, with 92 being treated in hospital.

The 17 storeys of the Weigun Jinlong (Golden Dragon) building, which was home to 256 people collapsed as the quake of 6.4 magnitude shook the city. In other parts of the city, at least two other victims were killed by falling debris.

Hundreds of soldiers were part of the rescue effort, as well as firefighters, police and volunteers, clawing at the rubble with their bare hands in frantic attempts to rescue more survivors. Shelters are being set up for those who have lost their homes.

A woman told the BBC she was waiting to hear from her daughter, who lived on the fifth floor of the fallen apartment block. "She's not answering my phone calls. I am trying to hold my emotions and stay strong. I'll do that until I find her," she said.

"I know they will find her, but I have also prepared for the worst," she added.

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 find his grandsons. "My 11- and 12-year-old grandsons are still inside on the ninth floor," said the man, who gave his surname as Huang. "I told my son not to buy an apartment here; it was suspiciously cheap," he said in an AP report.

Interior Minister Chen Wei-jen said investigators would examine whether the building's construction met requirements.