Quake: Man saved after 21 days
2005-11-01 14:09
Islamabad - A 45-year-old man was rescued by his family in a remote northern Pakistani village after 21 days under the debris of a house destroyed by the October 8 earthquake, a news report said on Tuesday.
The daily newspaper The News said Mohammad Saeed was found alive on Sunday when his family was digging in the rubble that had been their house looking for their belongings in Gangwal village in Alai sub-district of Northwestern Frontier province (NWFP).
The family had presumed Saeed had been killed in a nearby jungle by the earthquake that left more than 58 000 dead and nearly 78 000 injured in NWFP and Pakistan's administered Kashmir.
"Nobody saw him come back from the jungle and everybody thought he must have died there," said local municipal administrator, Abdul Sattar.
He added: "They (family members) were shocked when they heard the voice of Saeed under the rubble after 21 days."
Saeed, who had been suffering from mental illness before the earthquake, was seriously traumatised but otherwise suffered no injuries, Sattar said.
"His mental health has deteriorated after being buried there for 21 days without food, water or anything else," he said. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA