Taiwan quake death toll rises to 40, eventual toll could likely top 100

The death toll of a 6.7-magnitude quake that hit south Taiwan early Saturday has risen to 40 and 107 people remain missing, rescuers said Tuesday.

According to the rescue center, 213 people have been pulled out from the debris of the Wei Guan residential complex that collapsed after the quake in Tainan city, of whom 38 died before reaching the hospital.

However, three signs of life were newly detected at the 16-story building, which are the focus of the rescue work now, said William Lai, mayor of Tainan at a press briefing.

Rescuers warned of diminishing chance of finding survivors as 72 hours have passed since the quake struck. They are considering using heavy machines to speed up the work.

The 6.7-magnitude quake hit Kaohsiung city at 3:57 a.m. Beijing Time on Saturday, just two days ahead of the traditional lunar New Year. Local monitoring authorities put the scale of the quake at 6.4.