TAINAN, Taiwan — As anxious families waited nearby, rescuers on Sunday painstakingly pulled more survivors from the remains of a high-rise apartment building that collapsed a day earlier in a powerful earthquake that shook southern Taiwan and killed at least 32 people. More than 100 remained buried in the building’s rubble.
The government in Tainan, the worst-hit city, said that more than 170 people had been rescued alive from the 17-story building, which folded like an accordion after the quake struck.
With the extended Lunar New Year holiday — the most important family holiday in the Chinese calendar — officially beginning on Monday, celebrations were certain to be subdued in Taiwan. Both President Ma Ying-Jeou and President-elect Tsai Ing-Wen canceled the handing out of envelopes of cash in their hometowns, a holiday tradition for Taiwan’s leader.
The Tainan Disaster Emergency Center estimated that 118 people were still trapped at the site of the collapsed building, many at the bottom of the wreckage. Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-Te said rescuers were able to reach many people by using information from residents who escaped about the possible locations of those still inside.
