The remains of the final person reported missing after a building collapsed in Taiwan last week following a powerful earthquake that shook the city has been discovered, bringing the rescue mission to an end. A total of 116 people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of the incident.

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Rescue efforts come to an end about  a week after the 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck southern Taiwan. Mayor William Lai announced on Saturday that all missing persons have been accounted for, Xinhua reported.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the earthquake shook Kaohsiung City at a depth of 15 km at 3:57 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6.

The city of Tainan was most affected by the earthquake. In Yongkang district, a 16-storey apartment building built in 1992 completely collapsed. The U-shaped Wieguan Jinglong (Golden Dragon) building also fell eastside towards a road just seconds after the earthquake.

A total of 289 people were rescued from the toppled buildings. All but two of the 116 recovered in Tainan were found among the ruins of the Weiguan Jinlong building. Of the survivors, 96 were sent to the hospital for medical treatment

Throughout Tainan City, up to 507 people were reportedly hospitalized following the earthquake - 438 of whom have since been discharged from hospitals.

Lai identified the last missing person to be pulled out from debris as Hsieh Chen-yu. According to Lai, Hsieh was part of the building's management committee. He speculates that Hsieh may have wanted to wait until everyone else had fled for safety.

Lin Ming-hui, the developer of the Weiguan Jinlong complex, together with the two architects of the structure, have been detained on allegations of negligence. Experts say the developer and architects may have cut corners in building the complex.

Tainan City officials are set to inspect several dozen other structures built by Lin. Although earthquakes often hit Taiwan, they cause little or no concern, especially after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake shook the country in 1999. Since then, more stringent building construction regulations were imposed.

TagsTaiwan, Taiwan Earthquake, Taiwan Earthquake 2015, 116 died due to earthquake in Taiwan, 116 casualties in Taiwan, Tainan City, William Lai, Weiguan Jinlong, Kaohsiung City, Golden Dragon Building