Rescuers were working Wednesday to try to reach people who were trapped after a strong earthquake near Taiwan's east coast caused several buildings to cave in and tilt dangerously. At least six people were killed and 88 are missing in the quake, the AP reports. Video footage and photos showed several midsized buildings in worst-hit Hualien county leaning at sharp angles, their lowest floors crushed into mangled heaps of concrete, shattered glass, bent iron beams, and other debris. Firefighters could be seen climbing ladders hoisted against windows as they sought to reach residents inside apartments.
The shallow, magnitude 6.4 quake late Tuesday night caused at least four buildings in worst-hit Hualien county to cave in and tilt dangerously, killing four people. The quake injured 225 people, two dozen of them critically, in Hualien county, Taiwan's Central News Agency reports. The force of the tremor buckled roads and disrupted electricity and water supplies to thousands of households, the National Fire Agency says. China Central Television reports that more than 40 of the missing people are trapped in the Yunmen Cuiti building, a 12-story apartment building. Rescue efforts at the building have been suspended because the structure is sliding, according to Taiwan's Central Emergency Operation Center.
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