Death toll rises to 115 as more bodies pulled from Taiwan quake rubble

The bodies of more than 110 people have been found after an apartment block in Taiwan collapsed during an earthquake, rescuers said on Saturday. Only two residents of the Wei-guan Golden Dragon complex in the southern city of Tainan remained unaccounted for as emergency services drew close to completing their search. More bodies were retrieved on Saturday morning but 327 people have been rescued from of the rubble of the 17-storey building since the 6.4-magnitude quake struck one week ago. The death toll now stands at 115 with 550 injured, according to the latest count from the National Fire Agency.

There are so many other older buildings in Tainan that are still standing. Why was it only this building that was completely destroyed?

Wang Xingyou, cab driver

Wei-kuan was the only high-rise in Tainan to crumble completely, prompting questions about the construction of the building, which was completed in 1994. Prosecutors have taken the developer, Lin Ming-hui, and two of his associates into custody on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. Investigators found flaws in the construction, including a lack of steel reinforcement girders. Pictures of the ruins showed tin cans and foam were used as fillers in the concrete and evidence has emerged that walls may have been knocked down that affected the structure of the building.

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