The death toll from the earthquake that struck southern Taiwan on Saturday had climbed to 83 as of 8:25 am on Friday.

The collapse of the Wei Guan building, the most seriously damaged, accounted for 81 of the deaths, according to an official update on the casualties.

The quake, which the China Earthquake Administration said had a magnitude of 6.7, hit Kaohsiung city at 3:57 am Beijing Time on Saturday, just two days ahead of the Lunar New Year. Local monitoring authorities put the scale of the quake at 6.4.

Earlier report:  6.7-magnitude quake jolts Taiwan

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit Kaohsiung of Taiwan at a depth of 15 kilometers at 03:57 am Beijing Time on Saturday, according to China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter was monitored at 22.94 degrees north latitude and 120.54 degrees east longitude.

According to the island's weather and earthquake monitoring agency, the earthquake, measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale and with a depth of 16.7 kilometers, was centered about 27 km northeast of Pingtung county seat.

There were no immediate reports on damage and casualties.