Most of the 2,321 victims were killed when their homes or apartment buildings, mainly in central Taiwan, toppled in the tremor measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale which hit the island on Sept 21.

Nearly 10,000 buildings, many highrise apartment blocks containing up to 100 flats each, were destroyed. A further 7,530 were damaged with some towns reporting up to 98% structural damage.

Some 100 people from the construction industry have been implicated in a drive to prosecute those responsible for substandard buildings that collapsed in last month's earthquake, a prosecutor said yesterday.

Among those involved, 12 are being held on charges of involuntary manslaughter and endangering public safety, prosecutor Lin Ching-tsun said.

Fifty-six of them had been barred from leaving the country pending further investigation and others were released on bail, Mr. Lin added.

The lawyers say they hope to conclude inspection of the collapsed structures by the end of this month before formal prosecution begins,