Elderly couple rescued in China
2008-05-23 13:39
Beihing - Police have rescued an elderly couple who had been stranded for 11 days since the devastating earthquake on one of China's holiest mountains, state media said on Friday.
The couple, aged 92 and 84, had been stuck in their cottage in southwestern Sichuan province on the top of Mount Qingcheng, a peak associated with the founding of the Taoist faith.
Armed police found the couple, Tian Yueqing and Cao Shuyun, on Thursday and carried them down the mountain on stretchers, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
It said authorities set up a tent at the foot of the mountain for the couple, who have no children, and provided them with bedding, food, water and other necessities.
Such survival stories have inspired the Chinese public since the May 12 earthquake, which left more than 80 000 people dead or missing.
But no one has been found alive under the rubble since Tuesday when two people were rescued, including a woman who survived by drinking rainwater.
Rescuers have increasingly been focusing on the battle to prevent disease among the more than five million homeless and to reach people in far-flung areas. The military flew 1 200 sorties to disaster-hit areas as of Thursday, mostly to remote mountain villages.
Mount Qingcheng, near the quake-devastated town of Dujiangyan, is dotted with temples that mark it as the base of the second-century hermit Zhang Daoling, who propagated the Taoist faith.
- AFP