More than 100 still trapped from Taiwan earthquake

Two survivors — one found shielded under the body of her husband — were pulled out alive from a toppled high-rise apartment building on Monday, two days after a powerful quake that killed at least 36.

Taiwan's Eastern Broadcasting Corp. reported that Tsao Wei-ling called out "Here I am" as rescuers dug through to find her. A male survivor was pulled out conscious from the sixth floor section of the folded 17-story building, according to a notice posted at a rescue information center on site.

Rescuers also found signs of life from a 28-year-old woman who is a migrant worker and an 8-year-old girl, both conscious but trapped in the fifth-floor section.

More than 100 people are believed to be still buried in the collapsed building from a disaster that struck during the most important family holiday in the Chinese calendar — the Lunar New Year holiday.

The government in Tainan, the worst-hit city, said that more than 170 people had been rescued from the 17-story building, which folded like an accordion after the quake struck.

The death toll from Saturday's powerful 6.4-magnitude quake in south Taiwan stood at 36. Thirty-four of those were from the building collapse in Tainan city, and two other people died elsewhere in the city.

Rescuers said Tsao was found under the body of her husband, who had shielded her from a collapsed beam, Taiwan's government-run Central News Agency reported. Her husband and 2-year-son were found dead, while five members of her family remained unaccounted for, it said.

President Ma Ying-jeou is scheduled to visit the disaster zone later on Monday, as is Tsai Ing-wen, who won a presidential election last month.

Chinese President Xi Jinping conveyed condolences to the victims, state news agency Xinhua reported late on Sunday, and repeated Beijing's offer to provide help.

Mao Yi-chen, 20, was rescued soon after the magnitude-6.4 quake hit before dawn Saturday, and her older sister Mao Yi-hsuan was pulled out Sunday in serious condition. A rescue worker had handed over a photo album and homemade cards found next to her for her family to collect, said local official Wang Ding-yu.

"He said that 'maybe your home is damaged, but memories of the family can last,"' Wang said.

Those found alive include a 20-year-old identified by Taiwan media as Huang Kuang-wei and another man in his 20s surnamed Kuo, who was able to walk out from the rubble, supported by rescuers. Both were sent to hospital.

Firefighters, police, soldiers and volunteers combed through the ruins, some using their hands, watched anxiously by dozens of the victims' family members who wore thick jackets, woolen hats and scarves on a chilly morning.

At least 36 people are known to have died in the quake, which struck at about 4 a.m. on Saturday, including 16 found in the collapsed Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building in the southern city of Tainan.

The building's lower floors pancaked on top of each other and then the whole structure toppled, raising immediate questions about the quality of materials and workmanship used in its construction in the 1990s.

Liu Shih-chung, Tainan city government deputy secretary general, said television footage of its ruins suggested the possibility of structural problems related to poor-quality reinforced steel and cement.

However, city officials have said it is too early to say for certain if poor construction was a factor in the collapse.

Authorities said the building had 96 apartments and 256 registered residents, though more people were inside when it collapsed.

Rescuers wearing red and yellow overalls pulled more than 240 survivors from the ruins and inserted huge supports under slabs of leaning concrete as they searched for additional survivors.

Buildings in nine other locations in the city of 2 million people had collapsed and five were left tilting at alarming angles.

Wire services