Rescuers Sunday ended their search of a Taiwan building partially toppled by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake as the last trapped pair were presumed dead, bringing the final death toll to 17. It was left leaning at around a 50-degree angle by the quake, complicating rescue efforts due to fears of an imminent collapse. They were staying in a second-floor room at a hotel in the Yun Tsui building when the quake struck. ADVERTISEMENTTaiwan’s worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people. That quake ushered in stricter building codes but many of Taiwan’s older buildings remain perilously vulnerable to even moderate tremors.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 11, 2018 09:56 UTC