TAIPEI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of a powerful earthquake that struck southern Taiwan has reached 18 by Sunday morning, the latest statistics from a local fire agency said.

A total of 356 people have been rescued in Tainan. At least 132 people are still waiting for rescue, a local rescue command center said.

The 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit Kaohsiung at 3:57 a.m. Beijing Time on Saturday at a depth of 15 kilometers, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.