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Earthquake death toll rises to 96 as rain poses challenge to rescue work

As of 3pm Friday earthquake death toll increased to 96, with 28 people still missing, who are still believed to be buried under the rubble of a collap...

Earthquake death toll climbs to 96

As of 3pm Friday earthquake death toll increased to 96, with 28 people still missing, who are still believed to be buried under the rubble of a collap...

As of 3 p.m. Friday earthquake death toll increased to 96, with 28 people still missing, who are believed to be buried under the rubble of a collapsed building of Weiguan Jinlong apartment complex in Tainan.

On the seventh day after the Feb. 6 earthquake, the bodies of more than a dozen of victims were found in the rubble of the collapsed building, which brought the number of people who died in a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck southern Taiwan on Saturday last week to 96, according to official figures.

Ninety-four of the 96 confirmed fatalities occurred in the collapsed Weiguan building. The other two died in the city’s Guiren District, according to the National Fire Agency.

While the ongoing rescue effort has come to its seventh day today with heavy machinery being ordered in to remove rubble from the Weiguan building located in the Yongkang District of Tainan, rain started to fall at around 5 p.m. yesterday and brought along with it the lower temperature, which has increased the difficulty of the rescue work.

To date, rescuers have found 235 people in the rubble of the collapsed 16-story residential building, with 96 of them being sent to hospital and 94 confirmed dead, said the Tainan City government.