Taiwanese remains trapped in collapsed Myanmar hotel

(Story updated at 6 p.m. to reflect latest MOFA statement)

Taipei, March 30 (CNA) A Taiwanese woman was still trapped in a collapsed hotel in Mandalay as of Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake devastated central Myanmar.

The woman, identified as the wife of a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林), was stuck inside the partially collapsed Great Wall Hotel Mandalay as of Sunday morning, Myanmar Taiwan Business Association Secretary-General Lo Chen-hua (羅振華) told CNA.

According to Lo, the Lins arrived in Mandalay a few days ago as tourists and were staying at the Great Wall Hotel during their visit.

Lin was more fortunate when the earthquake struck at 12:50 p.m. on Friday because he was standing near the hotel's main entrance and was able to escape, suffering only minor injuries during the process, Lo said.

Lin's wife, however, was trapped with a number of hotel staffers on the hotel's ground floor after the building partially collapsed in the wake of the strong quake, Lo said.

The Taiwanese businessman has been anxiously waiting outside the hotel for his wife to be rescued, Lo said, noting that Lin has talked to his wife via one of the trapped staffer's walkie talkie.

He was worried that voice of his wife, who has high blood pressure, sounded weak.

Cranes and rescuers have been deployed since late Saturday in trying to reach those trapped under the building, and some people have been freed, Lo said, but people in Mandalay have complained about the relatively slow progress due to limited manpower.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) told CNA in Taipei that efforts to rescue Lin's wife from the collapsed hotel were continuing Sunday afternoon.

The largest earthquake to hit the Southeast Asian country in more than a century has so far left more than 1,600 deaths, according to local authorities.

Experts expect that number to rise substantially in the weeks to come as the rubble from damaged buildings is cleared.