TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Video surfaced on Monday (Sept. 19) showing the rescue of a woman who was pinned by rubble after a three-story building collapsed in southeastern Taiwan.
At 2:44 p.m. on Sunday, a magnitude 6.8 quake struck 42.7 kilometers north of Taitung County Hall. The quake caused a three-story building in Hualien county's Yuli Township to collapse and trapped four people inside.
First responders quickly rushed to the scene and began removing bricks and tiles and were able to rescue an elderly couple, including a 70-year-old elderly man surnamed Chen and his 63-year-old wife surnamed Teng (鄧), who suffered multiple bruises but were in stable condition, reported ETtoday. The couple, who lived on the second floor, apparently were partially shielded by the sofa they had been sitting on when the earthquake struck.
Teng pinned under wall. (Faceook, Yen Sheng-yu screenshot)
In a video taken of the incident by volunteer firefighter Yen Sheng-yu (顏勝裕), Teng can be seen pinned down by a wall. Firefighters advise her not to move and take slow, deep breaths.
They first try to pull her out by her legs, but she says that her face is being pressed down by the wall. In another video, firefighters can be seen installing a jack to raise up the wall.
In a third video, firefighters have managed to put Teng on a stretcher and successfully pull her from the rubble.