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Taiwan Arrests Developers After High-Rise Collapse in Quake Kills Dozens

© REUTERS / Pichi ChuangRescue personnel work at the site where a 17-storey apartment building collapsed in an earthquake in Tainan, southern Taiwan, February 6, 2016
Rescue personnel work at the site where a 17-storey apartment building collapsed in an earthquake in Tainan, southern Taiwan, February 6, 2016 - Sputnik International
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Prosecutors in Taiwan have arrested the developers of a high-rise apartment building that collapsed after a strong earthquake which resulted in the deaths of at least 41 people, most of whom were in the housing complex.

According to Taiwan's official Central News Agency, the Tainan District Prosecutors Office charged three suspects with negligence resulting in death. Authorities suspect that careless construction contributed to the disaster, as the apartment complex in Tainan was the only major building to be destroyed in the quake.

© REUTERS / XinhuaA site where buildings collapsed is seen in this aerial picture taken after a powerful earthquake hit Tainan, southern Taiwan, February 6, 2016
A site where buildings collapsed is seen in this aerial picture taken after a powerful earthquake hit Tainan, southern Taiwan, February 6, 2016 - Sputnik International
A site where buildings collapsed is seen in this aerial picture taken after a powerful earthquake hit Tainan, southern Taiwan, February 6, 2016

Photographs from the aftermath show that cans and foam had been used to fill parts of the concrete framework of the building, which was constructed in 1989.

Of the fatalities, 39 were found in the residential building, while the other two were found in the nearby Gueiren District. More than 100 people are believed to be still trapped in the debris, while at least 210 people have been successfully rescued from the building.

Rescue personnel work at the site where a 17 story apartment building collapsed from an earthquake in Tainan, southern Taiwan, February 6, 2016 - Sputnik International
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According to the Tainan fire department, 406 of the 497 people who sustained injuries had been released from hospital as of noon Tuesday.

Due to strict construction standards in Taiwan, an island frequently struck by tremors, only a few buildings sustained damage.

Most earthquakes in Taiwan are relatively minor and cause little or no damage. However, a magnitude 7.6 quake in central Taiwan killed more than 2,300 people in 1999, prompting an overhaul of existing building codes.

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