More than 100 people are believed to still be under the debris in a disaster that struck during the most important family holiday in the Chinese calendar the Lunar New Year.
Saturday's quake killed at least 38 people in Tainan city in southern Taiwan, all but two of them in the collapse of the 17-story building. Even though the 6.4-magnitude quake was shallow, few buildings were reported to have been damaged, which experts said was because Taiwan's building standards are high.
Five survivors were believed to have been pulled out yesterday, and at least four today. One of them, Tsao Wei-ling, called out "Here I am" as rescuers dug through to find her, Taiwan's Eastern Broadcasting Corp. Reported.
She was found under the body of her husband, who had shielded her from a collapsed beam, the government-run Central News Agency reported. Tsao's husband and 2-year-son were found dead, and five other members of the family remained unaccounted for, it said.
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Mayor Lai Ching-Te told reporters he briefly exchanged words with the girl, Lin Su-chin.
"She is awake, but looks dehydrated, lost some temperature but she's awake and her blood pressure is OK," he said. "I asked her if there's anything wrong with her body. She shook her head."
Shortly afterward, rescue workers also pulled out a 28-year-old Vietnamese woman, identified as Chen Mei-jih, who had been trapped on what was the building's fifth floor.
Family members of the missing flooded into the information center in search of their loved ones or to wait anxiously.
A couple sitting in a small room where officials release information said they had heard no news about their son and his family, including their young grandsons.