Taipei [Taiwan], April 4: A woman who tried to rescue her pet cat from a collapsed building in Hualien after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake was trapped and died.
The Hualien Fire Department said on April 3 that the woman escaped the earthquake in stable condition. But, she later returned to the 8-story building on Hien Vien Street to save the cat.
The victim is Ms. Khuong, 33 years old, a high school teacher. Rescuers discovered that she had been crushed by a house pillar and died at around 2:00 p.m. on April 3.
This 8-story building was built 38 years ago. This is one of dozens of buildings in the Hualien region that collapsed after the strongest earthquake in 25 years in Taiwan . A total of 24 other people were rescued from the eight-story building, of whom four were hospitalized, the fire department said.
Ms. Lam, a resident of the building, told CNA that her mother was injured by a falling shoe cabinet. Another resident, Mr. Du, said his wife was rescued from the apartment on the 8th floor after the earthquake damaged the building's stairs.
A five-story family house on Beibin Street also collapsed, leaning toward the street, and the first floor was completely destroyed. The owner of the Ngo family told reporters that all 9 adults and 3 children in the building escaped and were safe.
Mr. Ngo said he was using the computer when the earthquake happened. The house shook so violently that he lost his balance and injured his leg. Wall paintings and steel cabinets in the house were all knocked to the ground. Mr. Ngo was lucky to escape through the second floor window.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
