Skip to main content

In Earthquake-Rattled, A Somber Start To Lunar New Year In Taiwan

Three days after a powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake in southern Taiwan, the rescue teams still give their best effort to help any survivors from the earthquake that shook the island and killed at least 37 people. But hope of finding survivors is fading. An estimated 110 people are still unaccounted for from the Golden Dragon apartment complex, the center of most rescue efforts.


This weekend, there have been countless stories of death — and life.

One rescue caught on Taiwanese news cameras shows crews frantically yelling to help a three-year-old boy, who had survived after being trapped under twisted beams for more than a day. One of his arms was crushed by concrete. Crew members fed the toddler by reaching a straw to him until they could wrestle him out. His parents are still missing.

Elsewhere in the wreckage, two brothers took turns yelling for help in order to preserve their voices. Help reached them and they survived. But dozens are still missing — or already among the casualties, including a 10-day old baby, one of the first reported casualties. Another infant — a six month old — was pulled out alive with her father's dead body still hugging her. The baby died later at the hospital.

"All of Taiwan is with these rescuers and the people of Tainan," Taiwanese president-elect Tsai Ing-wen said, referring to the city that sustained most of the destruction. "Today we are all from Tainan."

On this Chinese New Years Day, traditional nationwide celebrations are canceled. Instead, Taiwanese leaders have rushed to temples to pray for more survivors.

Source : NPR

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian army Claims the Second Rescue of Chibok Girl

A second schoolgirl that was seized in the Nigerian town of Chibok has been found, the army says. But a spokesman for the Chibok girls' parents has cast doubt on the claims, saying that the girl's name is not on the families' list of those missing. An army spokesman said Serah Luka was among a group of 97 women and children rescued by troops in the north-east. Islamist militant group Boko Haram has abducted thousands of other girls in recent years, rights groups estimate. This comes two days after the rescue of the first Chibok girl, Amina Ali Nkeki. The army has previously given misleading statements about the rescue of the Chibok girls - in its initial statement after Ms Nkeki was found, it used a wrong name. In all, 218 girls remain missing after their abduction by the Boko Haram Islamist group from Chibok secondary school in north-eastern Nigeria in 2014. Ms Nkeki told a Chibok community leader that six of the kidnapped girls had died, but...

ISIS Claimed to Execute Two Chinese Teachers

Isis claimed to execute two Chinese teachers who have been kidnapped in Pakistan last month. Source : CNN "ISIS has already killed two Chinese who had been kidnapped in Baluchistan, Southwest Pakistan," informed ISIS , Amaq, Thursday (8/6). China Foreign Ministry acknowledged that two citizens had kidnapped by armed men disguised as police officers in Pakistan. "We've been working to save those who were abducted during a past few days," confirmed the China Foreign Ministry, as quoted by Reuters. However, China foreign minister will try to verify the information through different source, including working closely with Pakistan authorities. During this time, ISIS is indeed working to build its power in Pakistan. They often launch attacks, including an attack in the Office of Senate in Baluchistan that killed 25 people last month. Lately, the Chinese Embassy to Pakistan have repeatedly asked Islamabad to improve the security around the are, especia...

Hong Kong Lunar New Year Celebrations Erupt in Violence as Police Clear Food Stalls

Hong Kong's Lunar New Year celebrations have descended into chaos as police leared illegal food stalls set up on a busy junction for Lunar New Year celebrations, leaving dozens injured or arrested. Riot police used batons and pepper spray and fired warning shots into the air early on Tuesday after authorities tried to move illegal street vendors from a district in the city. Protesters hurled bricks at police as scuffles broke out, while other demonstrators set fire to rubbish bins in the streets of Mong Kok, a gritty neighbourhood across the harbour from the heart of the Asian financial centre. A police statement said that three men aged 27 to 35 were arrested for assaulting a police officer and obstructing police, while another three police officers received hospital treatment. Broadcaster RTHK said later that 24 people had been arrested. The scuffles broke out after police moved in to clear "hawkers", or illegal vendors who sell local delicacies, trinkets and ...