At least 96 deaths, 28 still missing in Taiwan quake

As the work continued through heavy rain, family members and Taiwan's leaders remembered the victims at a Buddhist ceremony marking seven days since the tragedy struck.

From small children to the elderly, the faces of those who perished in last Saturday's earthquake. Laid out on tables, poignant offerings for loved ones lost.

All but two of the victims died in the collapse of a single building, the Golden Dragon complex.

"They should have been fast asleep when the earthquake struck. So I really hope that they didn't suffer at all in their final moments," said Lee Chung-Dian, sister of victim.

Taiwan's leader Ma Ying-Jou walked around the hall commiserating with family members, while leader-elect Tsai Ing-Wen offered prayers alongside the grieving relatives.

Some of those paying respects were themselves survivors. This woman was pulled to safety along with her two children. Her husband perished.

At the disaster site, the pace of excavations accelerated sharply Friday, with the removal of large amounts of debris exposing many more bodies but no survivors.

"A lot of bodes were trapped in the area that we got into today. But before now we weren't able gain access because of the collapsed structure that was lying on top of it," said Zen Hsu-Zheng, Deputy Mayor of Tainan.

As the number of confirmed dead shot up Friday, the number of those still missing beneath the rubble has shrunk accordingly, whittling away the slim remaining hopes that anyone will be found alive.

And likely eventually bringing the final number of victims of Saturday's quake and the catastrophic building collapse to close to 120.

Source: Xinhua