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A 10-day-old baby girl and a 50-year-old man were among nine found dead in the same apartment after a 17-storey building fell in the southern city of Tainan – causing every floor to crash down onto each other.

Another man, 40, was reportedly killed, as was a 55-year-old woman, according to an emergency response centre in Tainan.

Authorities said there were 92 households and 256 people living in the collapsed apartment building, but they did not know how many were actually there when the quake struck.

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: REUTERS)

Rescue efforts appeared to be concentrating on the residential blocks in the Wei Guan area of the city.

More than 300 people have been rescued so far – 154 of which have needed hospitalisation while two are in critical condition.

(Image: REUTERS)

(Image: REUTERS)

Elsewhere in the city several buildings tilted at alarming angles but a fire department official said rescue efforts were now focused entirely on the apartment block.

A 71-year-old neighbour who gave his name as Chang said: “I was watching TV and after a sudden burst of shaking, I heard a boom. I opened my metal door and saw the building opposite fall down.”

A plumber, he said he fetched some tools and a ladder to prise window bars open and rescue a woman crying for help.

He said: ”She asked me to go back and rescue her husband, child, but I was afraid of a gas explosion so I didn't go in.

“At the time there were more people calling for help, but my ladder wasn't long enough so there was no way to save them."

(Image: REUTERS)

One elderly woman, wrapped in blankets, was strapped to a board and slowly slid down a ramp to the ground as the cries of those still trapped rang out. Rescuers used dogs and acoustic equipment to pick up signs of life in the rubble.

Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou left the country’s capital of Taipei to travel to the disaster scene.

He told local media: “The disaster situation is not very clear yet. We will do our utmost to rescue and secure (survivors).”

The quake initially cut power to 168,000 households in Tainan, many of whose residents lived through a massive 1999 tremor that killed arout 2,400 people.

But utility company Taipower later said power had been restored to all but about 900 households.

Local reports quoted Tainan residents as saying the quake felt worse than the 1999 tremor, centred in central Taiwan.

Taiwan's Formosa TV said its reporters could hear the cries of people trapped inside the collapsed apartment tower as firefighters, police and troops swarmed the area.

The defence ministry said 810 soldiers had been mobilised for rescue efforts.

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: REUTERS)

At least four buildings collapsed as a result of the quake.

The earthquake came just hours after a volcano erupted just 30 miles from a nuclear reactor in Japan – sending lava and mud spewing.

(Image: USGS)

The quake, initially reported as a magnitude 6.7, was centered southeast of Tainan, a city of nearly 2 million people.

People took to Twitter to report the earthquake as local sources claim it caused buildings to sway and doors and windows to crack.

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau also measured a second quake of 4.3 magnitude centered in Tainan.

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: EPA)

The quake struck at around 3 p.m. EST Friday, or 2000 GMT, about six miles underground.

The tremor was located some 22 miles southeast of Yujing, according to the survey.

One local resident said after the quake: "I hugged the wall and put my face to the wall."

(Image: EPA) (Image: TWITTER)

Located along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, Taiwan is at times rattled by moderate to strong earthquakes.

Taiwan's China Post newspaper said on its website that more than one building collapsed in the quake.

"Collapsed buildings reported in Tainan, with rescue workers arriving on scene. The city government there has set up a level one emergency response center.

"Onlookers are urged not to block access to emergency crews moving into the area," the newspaper said.

Other areas of the city are said to be still being canvassed for possible damage.