Rescuers in Taiwan pulled a young man alive from a collapsed apartment tower on Sunday more than 24 hours after a strong earthquake shook the island, and kept searching for more than 130 people believed trapped in the ruins of the building. The 20-year-old was identified by Taiwan media as Huang Kuang-wei. He was taken to hospital. Firefighters, police, soldiers and volunteers combed through the ruins, some using their hands, watched anxiously by dozens of the victims' family members who wore thick jackets, woollen hats and scarves on a chilly morning. "Nothing matters but to get her out. The lady living across the hallway was rescued yesterday. I know they will find her, but I have also planned for the worst. It's been more than 20 hours now."

However, city officials have said it is too early to say for certain if poor construction was a factor in the collapse. The dead taken from the collapsed apartment block on Saturday included a 10-day-old girl who was found in her dead father's arms, media reported.

Authorities said the building had 96 apartments and 256 registered residents, though more people were inside when it collapsed. Rescuers wearing red and yellow overalls pulled more than 240 survivors from the ruins and inserted huge supports under slabs of leaning concrete as they searched for additional survivors.

Buildings in nine other locations in the city of 2 million people had collapsed and five were left tilting at alarming angles, a government emergency centre said on Saturday.