Three Indonesians die in Taiwan's earthquake

At least three Indonesian nationals were killed and 55 others injured in Taiwan after a powerful earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale shook southern Taiwan early Saturday morning, reports Indonesia's Antara news agency.

Information gathered by Antara from Indonesian Trade and Economic Office (KDEI) in Taipei stated that the KDEI officials had gone to quake-hit location in Tainan district to record the number of victims of Indonesian nationality.

There are around 16,000 Indonesian nationals in Tainan, the majority of whom, are working in the manufacturing sector.

Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung, where there are many Indonesian nationals, bore the brunt of the powerful earthquake Saturday morning.

The powerful earthquake toppled a 17-storey apartment building in southern Taiwan, triggering frantic efforts to rescue about 35 people feared trapped inside, according to a Reuters report.

Rescuers mounted hydraulic ladders and a crane to scour the wreckage, plucking 221 survivors to safety so far, with dozens taken to hospital, a fire brigade official said.

Elsewhere in the city of two million people, several buildings tilted at alarming angles but a fire department official said rescue efforts were now focused entirely on the apartment block, where a child's clothes fluttered from a first-floor laundry line and the smell of leaking gas hung in the air.

“I was watching TV and after a sudden burst of shaking, I heard a boom. I opened my metal door and saw the building opposite fall down," a 71-year-old neighbour, who gave his name as Chang, said.

The quake was centered 43 km (27 miles) southeast of Tainan, at a depth of 23 km (14 miles), the US Geological Survey said. Several aftershocks shook Tainan, Taiwan's weather bureau said.

One elderly woman, wrapped in blankets, was strapped to a board and slowly slid down a ramp to the ground as the cries of those still trapped rang out.

Rescuers used dogs and acoustic equipment to pick up signs of life in the rubble.