Sawt Falasteen - Ceremony bids farewell to tilting symbol of Taiwan quake

The glass-fronted Uranus building, located in Hualien, the city nearest the quake's epicentre, is a 10-storey mix of shops and apartments that has stood for nearly 40 years.

Wednesday's magnitude-7.4 earthquake caused it to tilt at a 45-degree angle, its twisted exterior quickly becoming one of the most recognisable images to emerge from the disaster.

By Friday, authorities said they would start taking it apart, first preparing a table of offerings in front of the building to ensure a smooth demolition and to "soothe the lost souls" of those killed in the quake.

Chips, instant noodles, bottles of soda, and folded piles of paper money for the dead were set alongside baskets of flowers and a container holding incense sticks.

"(We) offer sacrifices and pray for blessing for the demolition work of the Uranus building," an announcer said over a loudspeaker.

Traditional cultural rites like blessing a new home or providing offerings to spirits after buying a plot of land are commonplace in Taiwan.

Hualien county chief Hsu Chen-wei and other officials wearing construction vests each lit a joss stick and bowed to the building.

"The Uranus was built in 1986. All structures age due to time, earthquakes and many other conditions," she told reporters later.

"We hope to complete the demolition within two weeks so Hualien people can return to their regular lives. We hope that everyone will not be in such a panicky situation," Hsu said.

Workers then began using a pink crane to smash the glass windows covering the building's exterior, revealing the inner brick facade as rain started to drizzle.

By around 1 pm, a severe aftershock hit the city, alarming the construction team as the building appeared to lean more perilously forward.

Accelerating the process, workers began inserting giant metal bars to stabilise the structure.

Inside an exposed upper-storey floor, a piano could be seen lying on its side, surrounded by debris from an apartment damaged by the massive tremor.

So far, at least 10 people are known to have died from the quake, with more than 1,100 injured -- though authorities have not specified the severity of the injuries.

Hundreds remain stranded around Taroko National Park -- some in a hostel, others in a luxury hotel, on local hiking trails and a school cut off by landslides.

A network of tunnels traverses the mountainous region, with key roads leading to the park now blocked by falling rocks and earth.

Rescue teams have been mobilised from all over Taiwan and have deployed helicopters, search drones, and small teams on foot with dogs to look for those still missing.

"Rescuers are not giving up, as the search continues in the mountains for earthquake survivors," said Taiwan's vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim, calling them the "true heroes of a resilient Taiwan".

K.Hassan--SF-PST