The death toll for Saturday’s earthquake has risen to 41, of which 39 are attributed to one collapsed high-rise alone: the Weiguan Jinlong building in the southern city of Tainan. Three more fatalities were discovered at that building on Tuesday morning, including the bodies of a woman and her son, as well as that of a 15-year old boy. The other two fatalities that occurred outside of that building were in Tainan's Gueiren District.
Tainan Mayor William Lai has decided to send in excavators to help with rescue operations at the Weiguan Jinlong building. The decision was a controversial one as some victims’ family members believe the move meant that the city has given up on rescuing victims since it has been more than 72 hours since the magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurred.
Mayor Lai said the excavators were used Tuesday morning to remove debris and other obstacles to the rescue operations. There are still over 100 people believed to be missing due to the collapse of the 17-story U-shaped residential building.
The lower floors of the building were flooded after a water main broke as a result of the quake. Rescue workers dropped inflatable boats in to help with the rescue efforts.
The epicenter of Saturday's quake was located in the Meinong district of Kaohsiung City. Tainan’s fire department says the temblor toppled nine buildings in Tainan and left 497 people injured.