Hundreds trapped in damaged buildings as quake hits Taiwan

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake in southern Taiwan early Saturday morning damaged several buildings, leaving at least one building collapsed, trapping hundreds of residents.

Rescuers have saved more than 160 people, with two losing signs of life, Xinhua cited local media reports.

By 7:10 a.m. local time, rescuers saved 127 people from a 17-storey collapsed building in Tainan, among which 29 were hospitalised. About 200 people are believed to have been living inside the high-rise building.

The earthquake hit Kaohsiung of Taiwan on Saturday morning and the epicentre was monitored at 22.94 degrees north latitude and 120.54 degrees east longitude.

According to the island's weather and earthquake monitoring agency, the earthquake, measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale and with a depth of 16.7 kilometers, was centered about 27 km northeast of Pingtung county seat.