Snacks and children’s toys filled offering tables yesterday in the special memorial hall of Tainan’s public funeral parlor dedicated to victims of the earthquake on Saturday last week, reflecting the large number of children and young people found dead in the rubble of the Weiguan Jinlong complex.
At press time there were 62 confirmed deaths and 62 persons still listed as missing following the collapse of the 17-story complex in Yongkang District (永康), which has been the main source of casualties from the magnitude 6.4 quake.
More than 30 photographs are lined up on either side of a statue of Buddha on an altar in the memorial hall.
Photo: Kuo An-chia, Taipei Times
In the offering section for family members, tiny shoes are just one of the signs that about half of the known victims were children or young people.
The families’ tables are packed with hamburgers, root beer, chocolates, almond crisp cookies, dried seaweed, dried plums, corn soup and egg rolls, which have been laid out for the departed.
Model kits, cars, trains, robots, puzzles, Yokai “monster” watches and small stuffed koalas are just some of the toys that are to be burned alongside paper money the day before viewing ends to accompany their owners into the afterlife, funeral hall workers said.
Some mourners have also left notes with messages for the deceased.
“Losing you, I cannot help crying rivers of tears. Losing you, only memories are beautiful now. It hurts so much, so much, so much that I have to accept this reality. I am so sad, so sad, so sad — that I cannot be myself anymore... You will also always be an angel in my heart. I really miss you, yearn for you,” the friend of one girl wrote.
A woman surnamed Tung (董) came to make an offering to her two young nephews, Wu Yu-sheng (吳宥陞) and Wu Yu-chun (吳宥諄), whom she said were sleeping with their mother on the fifth floor of Weiguan’s B building when the earthquake struck.
The boys — who were two and three years old respectively — were pinned down on either side of their mother when the building collapsed, she said.
Their mother was unable to save her sons, but was eventually able to crawl out of a crevice by herself, despite two broken ribs and numerous other injuries.
“We will do everything in our power to give them what they like,” Tung said, adding that trains were among the boys’ favorite toys.
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