Earthquake strikes Taiwan on first day of Chinese New Year holiday

Plucked from the ruins: Baby is among more than 200 pulled alive from rubble after devastating 6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Taiwan on first day of Chinese New Year holiday, killing 11

 

At least 11 people have died after multiple residential buildings collapsed as 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan

A 17-storey residential block which was home to more than 200 residents has collapsed in Tainan City

Among the dead are ten-day-old baby girl and a 50-year-old man found in the same apartment, and a woman, 55

A second man, 40, died inside the apartments, while a second woman was hit by a falling water tank, fire crews said

Another 378 people were injured during the disaster, with a total of 230 pulled alive from the rubble

 

At least 11 people have died including a ten-day-old baby after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan in the early hours of this morning, causing a 17-storey apartment building to collapse.

Emergency crews are working to free hundreds more people who are feared trapped after the quake struck the southern city of Tainan at around 4am at the start of the Chinese New Year holidays, according to Taiwan's state news agency.

A ten-day-old girl was reported to have died in the disaster alongside a 50-year-old man who was found in the same apartment. Another man, 40, was reportedly killed, as was a 55-year-old woman, according to an emergency response center in Tainan.

Fire crews told   that another woman was killed by a falling water tank at a different location, but did not give any more details. 

  Alive: Fire crews are pictured pulling a stunned infant from the wreckage of a 17-storey apartment building in the city of Tainan, Taiwan, after an earthquake struck this morning killing three and leaving hundreds more trapped

  While this infant was lucky enough to escape with its life, another ten-day-old baby girl was reported to have been killed along with a 50-year-old man found inside the same apartment

Another youngster wrapped in a pink blanket is carried from the ruins of the 17-storey building which is believed to have been home to 256 people living in 92 apartments

    A young girl stares into the camera after being pulled alive from the remains of a 17-storey apartment block that collapsed in Tainan City

    Some 11 people are now reported to have died in the disaster - including four in the 17-storey apartment block, while another was killed by a falling water tower at another location (pictured, rescue workers carry the body of a victim out of an apartment)

 As well as the baby girl and 50-year-old man, another man aged 40 was found dead inside the apartment block, with the body of a 55-year-old woman later discovered among the rubble

 This aerial shot shows two collapsed buildings lying across the road, with emergency services' vehicles surrounding them

 The 17-storey building had several hundred residents but 'pancaked' when the 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck, authorities said

 At least 230 people have been pulled from the rubble this morning, but up to 30 more people are feared to be trapped

 

Buildings in nine other locations in the city of 2 million people had collapsed and five were left tilting at alarming angles, a government emergency centre said.

The initial quake, which struck just before 4am, was very shallow, at depth of 6.2 miles (10 km), which would have amplified its effects, the United States Geographical Survey said.

TAIWAN EARTHQUAKE BY NUMBERS 

Dead: 11, including a ten-day-old girl

Injured: 378 taken to hospital

Saved: 230 pulled from rubble

Rescuers: 1,200 firemen and soldiers

Trapped: Up to 30 inside apartment block

Magnitude: 6.4, striking at 3.57am

It was followed least five aftershocks of 3.8-magnitude or more, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau. Any earthquake which measures above 6 on the Richter scale is considered strong, with the most severe recorded measuring at 8.9. 

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, speaking to reporters in the capital before leaving for the Tainan, said authorities were not clear on the extent of the disaster.

'The disaster situation is not very clear yet. We will do our utmost to rescue and secure (survivors),' Ma said.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office, which in is charge of Beijing's relations with the self-ruled island, said China was willing to provide help if needed, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said. Beijing regards Taiwan as a wayward province.

The quake initially cut power to 168,000 households in Tainan. Later, utility Taipower said power had been restored to all but about 900 households. 

Taiwan's Formosa TV showed images of police, firefighters and some troops in camouflage uniforms at the site of the 17-storey building, where the cries of some residents trapped inside could be heard.

The firefighters were hosing down part of the building to prevent a fire, while others used ladders and a crane to enter the upper floors.  

One Tainan resident told MailOnline that the hospitals in the city are full, while water and electricity has largely been cut off

 

One weeping resident told how she tried to smash her way out of her home.

'I used a hammer to break the door of my home which was twisted and locked, and managed to climb out,' she told local channel SET TV, weeping as she spoke. 

Elsewhere in the city of two million people, several buildings tilted at alarming angles. 

Dozens have been rescued or safely evacuated from a market and a seven-floor building that was badly damaged, the Central News Agency reported.

A bank building also careened, but no injuries were reported, it said. 

A Tainan resident told MailOnline:  'The water supply has been cut off and the hospitals are full. It's pretty horrendous. Some people are trapped in collapsed buildings.'

 Rescue personnel work at a damaged building - possibly an office block - in the hours after quake