Man pulled alive from Bam quake rubble after 13 days

A 57-year-old man was pulled from rubble left by the Bam earthquake, barely conscious but still alive.

He survived because he had a water source during the 13 days he was buried, a doctor and a hospital official said yesterday.

“It’s a miracle,” said Dr Mahdi Shadnoush, the chief physician at the Ukrainian field hospital where the man, identified only as Jalil, was being treated after his rescue on Wednesday night. “He had no access to food but only water.”

The man quickly slipped into unconsciousness, however, and his prognosis was uncertain. Witnesses saw Jalil, bruised and covered with white cloth on a hospital bed.

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Bam in southeast Iran on December 26, killing more than 30,000 people and levelling much of the ancient city.

Searchers found Jalil after people alerted them to an area where they thought a body was still buried. Dr Shadnoush said he did not know how Jalil got water, but said the ruins of the home in which he was found were wet.

People rarely survive burial under earthquake rubble for more than three days. On Saturday, rescuers found a 97-year-old woman alive, buried in her Bam home.

Jalil was conscious enough to mouth his name to rescuers but he slipped into unconsciousness after just a few minutes, said Mohammad Reza Tahmasebi, the administrator of the Ukrainian hospital .

“We hope to save his life,” Dr Shadnoush said. “A medical team is looking after him. We hope to keep him alive, but we cannot guarantee it.”