LOC19:33
16:33 GMT
TOKYO, Feb 9 (KUNA) -- The death toll of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that hit south Taiwan Saturday has risen to 41 and more than 100 people remain missing, official media reported Tuesday.
Rescue work has continued around the clock at the site of the collapsed 16-story apartment complex in Tainan City. Of the 41 people confirmed dead, 39 were residents of the building, Tainan's fire department said in a statement, according to the Taipei-based Central News Agency.
As of Tuesday, 109 people were still believed to be trapped in the collapsed residential building, the fire department said. The quake, centered in Kaohsiung City, toppled nine buildings in Tainan and left 539 people injured across Taiwan, the report said.
Meanwhile, Tainan prosecutors requested the court's permission to detain three former executives of the real estate development company that built the collapsed residential building. The residential complex, which comprised around 200 housing units, was built in 1983. (end)
mk.ma