This footage was filmed and produced 3 April 2024.

Storyline:
Rescue efforts came underway quickly in China's Taiwan after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit the region on Wednesday morning and severely tilted many high-rise buildings.

The quake had left nine people dead and 1,011 other people injured as of 22:00 Wednesday, according to the local emergency operation center.

In Hualien, a county just north of the epicenter on Taiwan's east coast, a total of 48 buildings were affected by the earthquake, four of which were seriously damaged. Most residents were evacuated safely.

A 10-story structure in Hualien called the Uranus Building, which housed a mix of homes and shops, was thrown dramatically off-kilter by the quake and appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

Su Jin-huei, captain of the self-improvement Unit of the Hualien County Fire Department, said the angle of the tilt created difficulties for the rescue operation.

Rescue efforts were still ongoing when Deng Zih-yu, director of the construction department of Hualien, told a reporter about plans to conduct an investigation and demolish the building.

The quake struck at 07:58 Wednesday and the epicenter on the islands east coast was monitored at 23.81 degrees north latitude and 121.74 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 12 km, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Shotlist:
1. Building severely tilted by earthquake in Taiwan, April 3, 2024;
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Su Jin-huei, Captain, self-improvement unit, Hualien County Fire Department (partially overlaid with shot 3):
"After this building collapsed, residents were trapped on the third, fourth, eighth and ninth floors. We took an aerial ladder truck to their positions, but the building was tilted severely and people were trapped under beds and wardrobes, making it impossible for them to move. So we used blasting equipment and sent special teams to get inside the buildings. They broke down the door and removed the debris to get the people out one by one. We rescued six people, four men and two women. All of them are conscious."
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3. Various of rescuers, damaged building
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4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Deng Zih-yu, Director, construction department of Hualien (partially overlaid with shot 5):
"The leaning building behind me is on Xuanyuan Road. Special teams of the fire department are now conducting search and rescue operations in it. There are still people trapped on the higher floors. Those on the lower floors have probably already come out. Now we have to wait for the completion of search and rescue to see if there are injuries or fatalities. Then we will cooperate with the district prosecutor's office to conduct on-site forensic examinations. After that, we will proceed with the demolition work."
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5. Various of rescuers, damaged building
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6. Tilted building in Taiwan, April 3, 2024.

[RESTRICTIONS: No access Chinese mainland]