Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) A male employee in his 50s was rescued early Wednesday from a partially collapsed hotel in eastern Taiwan's Hualien, which was struck by a magnitude 6.0 earthquake late Tuesday.
The man, Chen Ming-hui (陳明輝), was rescued from Marshal Hotel (統帥飯店) in Hualien City after being trapped for around four hours in basement level 1 of the 11-story hotel. The bottom three floors of the building were crushed following the quake.
Chen was able to survive because parts of B1 did not collapse. He was able to contact rescue personnel with his mobile phone.
Chen, who had no apparent physical injury, told reporters that he was about to get off work when the earthquake hit at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday.
Two employees on the first floor of the hotel remain missing.
( Marshal Hotel)
As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, two individuals were killed and 202 others were injured in the quake, with 27 critically injured, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center.
One of the dead victims was a 60-year-old female in Marshal Hotel, and the other was a 66-year-old male who was rushed to the hospital from his home.
Four buildings have partially collapsed or tilted, including Marshal Hotel, Yun Tsui building (雲翠大樓) and two residential buildings, according to the center.
In addition to the two employees at Marshal Hotel, several people are also reportedly trapped in the Yun Tsui building, where a hot pot restaurant is located.
(Yun Tsui building)
Power outage hit 518 households, while 40,000 households had their water supplies cut, the center said.
(By Christie Chen)Enditem/