(Reuters)– A rescue official said on Tuesday (February 9) that more signs of life have been found in the debris of a building in Taiwan, three days after it collapsed during a powerful earthquake.
Local broadcaster FTV reported the possible survivors were located on the 14th floor of the building. Search and rescue work was underway at the site, with rescuers proceeding carefully.
“It appears that there are signs of life. So as a result, we are dealing with this area very carefully. Under these conditions we need to be very careful because we cannot let any sort of possibility of life disappear. At 10 am in the morning (0200 GMT), we removed some barricades and have already started search and rescue work because it’s quite close to that area,” said Cheng Ming-chang. Director of Taiwan’s Civil Engineering Association.
Rescuers had turned their attention to reaching victims still trapped in deeper layers of the rubble. These efforts have now halted for a more careful and painstaking search process to continue.
“So then we spent much time because all of our hopes are invested in that place. So as a result, all of our engineering work must halt, because it will interfere with the rescue process. So as long as the search and rescue team goes in at this time, all of the heavy machinery must get out,” said Cheng.
By the early hours of Tuesday morning the official death toll from the quake was at least 38, with more than 100 people missing.
As time goes on the chances of recovering survivors are diminishing as people still trapped beneath the debris have no access to food and water.
