6.4-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Taiwan; At least Seven People Died

by Diana Tomale / Feb 07, 2016 06:51 AM EST

Outgoing President Ma Ying Jeou vowed "all-out efforts" rescue after a deadly earthquake hit Taiwan. (Photo by Ashley Pon/Getty Images)

At least seven people were killed after a deadly earthquake hit southern Taiwan on Saturday. Reuters reported Saturday that five of those who died were from the 17-storey Wei Kuan apartment complex.

Rescuers were able to save 220 survivors from the building, while they fear that about 35 individuals are still trapped inside after the complex collapsed.

"I was watching TV and after a sudden burst of shaking, I heard a boom," a 71-year-old survivor said. "I opened my metal door and saw the building opposite fall down."

A survivor told BBC News Saturday that the tremor lasted for about 40 seconds.

"It was a violent jerking motion," said Irving Chu. "The entire room was shaking. We were just holding on to things. We were shaken up."

Another survivor said the tremor eased off for a while, but recurred and shook even harder.

"I was just in bed, about to fall asleep, and shaking started happening," Barry Knapp said. "It was going on for about 20 to 30 seconds and it came in waves. It was shaking and then it eased off, but then it started shaking even harder."

According to reports, the epicenter of the 6.4-magnitude earthquake was located 43 kilometers southeast of Tainan, a city on Taiwan's southeast coast.

Outgoing President Ma Ying Jeou vowed "all-out efforts" to rescue those who are still trapped and offer assistance to those who are affected by the disaster. Aside from that, China has also offered to help Taiwan shortly after the earthquake struck the country, Yahoo! News noted Saturday.

Further reports revealed that the deadly earthquake downed a number of tall buildings in the country. The disaster also resulted to power outages affecting 168,000 households. The incident has also disrupted the transport links in the area.

Meanwhile, Facebook chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg extended his concern to those who are affected by the disaster. Facebook has also enabled its "safety check" feature for Taiwan that allows users to notify their friends and relatives that they are safe.