At least four Vietnamese citizens, including a 7-month-old girl and a 2-month-old boy, remain trapped beneath the rubble of a 17-storey apartment tower that collapsed in Taiwan early Saturday morning.

The building was destroyed during a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Tainan in southern Taiwan.

Last night, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after being informed by the Viet Nam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, ordered the office to send a rescue team to assist local agencies in rescuing those trapped underneath the rubble.

Tran DuyHai, head of the rescue office, talked to the Voice of Viet Nam (VOV)'s correspondent, saying that the Vietnamese trapped inside the tower were relatives of Tran Ngoc My, who married a Taiwanese man. Those trapped include My's children and younger sister.

The office has now set up two hotlines, +88 698 819 3929 and +88 697 865 5358, to support Vietnamese citizens seeking news of friends and relatives in Taiwan following the earthquake.

According to Reuters, at least 18 people are known to have died in the quake and more than 120 people are believed trapped more than 24 hours after the quake toppled the building.

The quake, rattling the nation at 3:57 am local time Saturday, injured more than 400 people.


VNS