Taiwan was hit with a magnitude 6.4 earthquake Saturday at 4 a.m. (Friday, 3 p.m. EST), killing seven people after the collapse of the Wei Guan Golden Dragon Building. Records show that 249 people were taken out of the high-rise residential building's debris, 29 of which are injured, and eight people are unaccounted for, according to USA Today.
As the search for survivors continue, people have started to question the construction of the 17-story residential building located at the southern city of Tainan for easily crumbling to the earthquake, despite stricter building codes for high-rise buildings that require stronger foundations as precaution for such incidents. The building housed 92 families, and among the residents who died are a 10-day old infant, a 40-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman, according to Reuters.
The United States Geological Survey notes that the earthquake was rather shallow, with a depth of 6.2 miles. It lasted for nearly two minutes, with its epicenter located about 30 miles southeast of Tainan, Taiwan's oldest city, according to The New York Times.
Taiwanese authorities have mobilized their army to help in the search and rescue operations. Overall, at least 400 people are injured and several are in comas, while fractured limbs are the most common injuries sustained by victims.
Facebook has activated its security check feature to allow users in Taiwan to notify their friends and family of whether they are safe or in need of help, according to The Wall Street Journal.
