CHINA> Survival Miracles
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CHINA> Survival Miracles
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Holding on for dear life
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-21 09:00 160 hours: A final reunion On May 19, rescuers extracted a woman who had been buried for more than 160 hours, but she died soon afterward, Beijing Youth Daily reported. Her rescue came a week after the 8.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated southwest China. Wang Fazhen, 53, was pulled from the wreckage of an apartment building in Hanwang town, Sichuan province.
It took about half an hour to pull her from the ruins of the collapsed building, which housed Tianchi Coal Mine employees. Rescuers had reportedly been searching for survivors there for days. Eleven people were in the building when the quake hit, and seven victims had been found by May 18. Rescuers were working to retrieve a body from the rubble when they heard a weak plea for help coming from the pile. It had been 160 hours since the quake destroyed the building, but Wang Fazhen was still alive, having spent several days pinned between a mattress and dresser without food or drink. Her relatives were out searching for her at the time of her rescue. Rescuers rushed her to the nearest emergency medical station, but a doctor at Dongqi Hospital realized she had stopped breathing before her arrival. She could not be revived. According to the news report, Wang said she felt sunshine on her face when she saw her family one last time before dying. |
