Rescue efforts at Taiwan building collapse site ends

Rescue efforts at a 17-storey building that collapsed during a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in southern Taiwan earlier this month ended yesterday, with the overall death toll reaching at least 116.Rescue work has focused on the wreckage of the 17-storey building. The building had 256 registered residents but when more than that number were pulled out in the initial days after the quake, it became clear more people were in the building when it toppled.At least one person remains missing, authorities said.Most of the deaths – 114 – came when the Wei-Kuan Jin-long building collapsed on February 6, the Central Emergency Operation Centre said yesterday evening.Two other people died elsewhere in the city. Another 550 people were injured in the collapse.“The search and rescue has come to an end,” said Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te, in remarks carried live on local television, identifying the last individual to be pulled out from the rubble as Hsieh Chen-yu, who was part of the fallen building’s management committee.The missing person was identified by the surname of Lin by Lai as he announced the end of the search as the building site.According to Lai, Lin – who has been diagnosed with mental disorders – is not a registered resident of the collapsed building, but was seen there hours before the disaster occurred.However, rescue teams have not found a trace of her at the site.Lin’s family had lost contact with her since the earthquake, Lai said.City officials have added her to the missing persons list.Officials said that 32 victims, including six children, discovered at the site remained unidentified.The city government said yesterday that 123 buildings in Tainan were seriously damaged by the earthquake.Those buildings will have to be either reinforced or scrapped, the state-run Central News Agency reported.Three former executives of the company that developed the complex were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion that the building did not meet safety standards.The Wei-Kuan was the only major high-rise building in the city of 2mn people to have completely collapsed. Its lower storeys, filled with arcades of shops, pancaked on top of each other before the entire U-shaped complex toppled in on itself.No one has yet been formally charged.Tainan on Friday sought the provisional seizure of 30mn Taiwan dollars ($910,000) from the developers for some survivors, the agency reported.Lai said late on Friday that the local government was likely to take further measures after receiving more requests from survivors and victims’ families.In September 1999, Taiwan was hit by a magnitude-7.3 earthquake that left more than 2,400 people dead.