Earthquake: Taiwan death toll hits 18

The death toll of a powerful earthquake that struck southern Taiwan has reached 18 by Sunday morning, the latest statistics from a local fire agency said.

A total of 356 people have been rescued in Tainan. At least 132 people are still waiting for rescue, a local rescue command center said.

The 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit Kaohsiung at 3:57 a.m. Beijing Time on Saturday at a depth of 15 kilometers, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.

Local monitoring authorities put the scale of the quake at 6.4 magnitude.

Previous reports said more than 460 people were injured in the quake.

In the historic city of Tainan, eight buildings collapsed and another five were damaged.