Old Woman Rescued 196 Hours after Earthquake

Source: Xinhua

A 60-year-old woman was rescued at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday from rubble in Pengzhou, southwest China's Sichuan Province, more than 196 hours after the May 12 earthquake.

Wang Youqun, a retired shop assistant from the provincial capital of Chengdu, had lived on rainwater in the past days. She, still conscious when rescuers found her, was rushed to hospital.

Wang was inside a temple in the mountainous Jiufeng village when the quake struck. She was hit by a falling girder in the head and had been in coma until last Tuesday, according to the rescue team from an air force regiment based in Chengdu.

The woman crept out of the temple and fell in coma again after making some 800 meters. Most of her body was buried in rubble when she was found.

She was receiving treatment in Huaxi Hospital in Chengdu. Her conditions were not immediately available.

A man named Ma Yuanjiang was the first survivor saved on Tuesday. He was rescued at around 12:50 a.m. from the rubble in Wenchuan County, nearly 179 hours after the powerful earthquake.

On Monday, rescuers saved four people alive from rubble, but one of them later died. Sichuan's Communist Party chief Liu Qibao said on Monday about 9,500 people remained under debris of leveled buildings. Experts warn that the chances of survival decrease greatly three days after the disaster.

A total of 39,577 people have been confirmed dead in last Monday's massive earthquake in Sichuan Province alone and another 236,359 people injured as of 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Li Chengyun, vice governor of Sichuan, said that 60,026 people have been rescued from earthquake debris and close to 4.85 million people relocated.

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Editor: Jessie Hwang