AFP,TAINAN: Rescuers deployed heavy machinery yesterday in a renewed effort to locate more than 100 people trapped in the rubble of a Taiwan apartment complex felled by an earthquake as the 72-hour “golden window” for finding survivors passed.
More than 210 have been pulled from the 16-storey Wei-kuan building—the only high-rise in the southern city of Tainan to crumble completely when the 6.4 magnitude quake struck before dawn Saturday, killing more than 40 people.
But the city government and rescuers estimated more than 100 others could still be buried in the rubble.
Tainan mayor William Lai ordered rescuers to start using diggers and extractors to remove giant concrete slabs to better detect signs of life, which they have found in three different areas.
“It’s approaching the 73rd hour and relatives are getting more anxious as time passes by and expect more. They hope the rescue team can make further moves,” he said at the scene early Tuesday.