Taipei Times
Date:  Feb 09, 2016
By: Yimou Lee  /  Reuters

Before the Weiguan Jinlong building in Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康)

collapsed in the earthquake before dawn on Saturday, a young couple living on the 14th floor had already been given a clue that the building was unsafe.

However, it came too late.

Chen Yi-ting and her husband bought the apartment five years ago. They had a small hiccup with the mortgage — the first bank they approached had declined their loan application without stating why — but they found another lender and moved in with their infant daughter.

Soon after, according to Chen’s mother, one of the couple’s friends, who had ties to the first bank, told them that it had a policy of refusing loans to residents of the 17-story building due to its poor construction.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/08
By: Yang Sz-ruei & Bear Lee

Taipei, Feb. 8 (CNA) Two people trapped for more than 60 hours in an apartment building toppled by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on Saturday were rescued Monday afternoon.

First it was an 8-year-old girl who was pulled from the collapsed building in Tainan at around 5 p.m., 61 hours after the earthquake struck southern Taiwan, rescuers said.

“Uncle, I am very thirsty,” the girl told the rescuers as they pulled her out of the fallen 16-story apartment building. The girl was conscious as she was rescued and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: February 6, 2016

Rescue efforts in southern Taiwan have shifted into high gear following a

magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck 3:57 a.m., Feb. 6, in Meinong District of Kaohsiung City.

A special Central Emergency Operation Center overseen by ROC Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen was activated shortly after the temblor. President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Chang San-cheng visited the CEOC later in the morning en route to Yongkang District of Tainan City to assess the situation.

Ma said the central and local governments are leaving no stone unturned in rescuing survivors, and units from the ROC armed forces are assisting with operations.

According to Chang, a top priority is finding housing for those affected by the disaster. Arrangements are being made with local hotels for temporary accommodation, while the Ministry of National Defense will set up shelters at military bases, he said.     [FULL  STORY]

DAY THREE:The death toll rose to 38 yesterday, while Tainan’s mayor urged people not to visit the disaster sites and president-elect Tsai Iing-wen met with victims

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 09, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter, with agencies

Emergency workers yesterday pulled several survivors from the debris of

the collapsed Weiguan Jinlong complex in Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康) as they battled against the clock in the 72-hour “golden time” window after Saturday’s earthquake.

The Weiguan Jinlong complex, which consisted of four buildings with nine residential sections, was toppled by the magnitude 6.4 quake that struck at 3:57am on Saturday.

As of press time last night, four survivors had been rescued from the complex yesterday.

A total of 211 people have been rescued from the complex, but at least 120 are still unaccounted for, while the death toll from the quake has climbed to 38 with more than 530 people injured.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/02/08
By: Yang Sz-ruei and Kay Liu

The survivor’s mother (center) becomes emotional when hearing the news.
Taipei, Feb. 8 (CNA) Rescuers working at a building that collapsed after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake Saturday pulled out another survivor from the rubble Monday morning.

The survivor, a woman surnamed Tsao, was found under the body of her husband, who shielded her from a collapsed beam in the 16-story Weiguan Jinlong building, rescuers said.

The woman showed stable vitals sign and remained conscious when she was found and rescued.

However, her husband and 2-year son were found dead, while five members in her family still remained unaccounted for, according to the rescuers.     [FULL  STORY]

Sky News, Reuters, CTI, Formosa, etc.

At least 224 people in the city were rescued from damaged structures, many from a 17-story residential building that collapsed in Tainan. Two bodies were also recovered from the building, officials said.

Click on photo to enlarge …

Source: Reuters

A rescue operation continues to pull survivors from the wreckage of an earthquake-hit apartment building in southern Taiwan. Rescuers have plucked 221 people from the debris, using mounted hydraulic ladders and a crane to scour the wreckage. The 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit at around 4am on Saturday morning (20.00GMT) as families gathered to celebrate lunar New Year.   [SOURCE]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-02-07
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

President-elect Tsai Ing-wen extended her gratitude Sunday to men and women serving on the frontlines of massive search and rescue efforts in Tainan, a city that has witnessed more than two dozen casualties and hundreds of injured in the wake of Saturday’s earthquake in southern Taiwan.

“At this moment in time, we stand by the people of Tainan,” Tsai quoted on her Facebook page in the morning, citing that: “We will not give up hope. Go Tainan! Go Taiwan!”

In the eve of the Lunar New Year gathering, I hereby extend my heartfelt condolences to families of those lost loved ones, she wrote.

“Rescue teams are now working round the clock as they face a race against time to reach those stranded. We must all stick together in this dire moment.”     [FULL  STORY]