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Government officials are investigating after a residential highrise collapsed in Taiwan and images of the rubble showed tin cans used in the construction of it.
The death toll from Saturday's 6.4 magnitude earthquake is 38, according to CNN, with 24 of the victims from the Weiguan Jinlong residential complex.
"When you see the aerial images around Tainan, the rest of the buildings are standing," Elise Hu, an NPR correspondent who was in Taipei when the quake hit, told CNN. "But this particular apartment complex is as damaged as it is."
The cans were there for aesthetics, not for structural support a building engineer told Taiwan's Central News Agency.
The cans helped enlarge pillars without significantly increasing weight, Tai Yun-fa, told CNA.
The building is the only highrise to collapse from the quake. The 200-unit building was built in 1983.
The practice of using cans in construction became illegal in 1999 after a 7.3 earthquake killed 2,415 people. Styrofoam and foamboard are used now.
Construction companies and contractors who built the highrise are no longer in business, however officials are investigating if any shortcuts were made, according to CNA.
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