Two survivors rescued from rubble of Taiwan quake

Two people were pulled alive from the rubble of an apartment complex in Taiwan Monday, more than 50 hours after it was felled by a powerful earthquake, as rescuers scrabbled to find 100 more still missing.

The rescues came as fears grow for more than 100 buried deep in the rubble of the Wei-kuan building in the southern city of Tainan, which was toppled Saturday.

The 6.4-magnitude quake left 37 confirmed dead, most of them from the apartment complex.

One man was lifted out by crane Monday and a woman was also freed after rescuers heard her cries for help.  

The male survivor was named by officials as 40-year-old Lee Tsong-tian rescuers told how they had been trying to dig him out of the rubble for more than 20 hours but were unable to do so as he was trapped by his leg. 

Doctors had been sent in to assess whether removing his leg would help save him, but felt there was not enough room for the operation.

He was eventually freed, but may need his leg amputated.

Tainan mayor William Lai said he talked to Lee just after he was rescued.

"I briefly chatted with him and he could communicate with his sister," he said.

"But I'm afraid his left leg might need emergency treatment... it is not immediately clear whether he'll be able to keep his leg, but doctors will do everything to treat him."

The woman survivor was named as Tsao Wei-ling, 45, and is in a stable condition her husband and two-year-old child were pulled out dead from the rubble, officials at the site said, with a search ongoing for five other members of her family trapped inside.