Two children rescued from rubble

THERE were brief moments of joy amid the horror of the earthquake shattered Iranian town of Bam yesterday when a young girl and a baby were rescued from under the rubble just as search teams were giving up hope.

But, as the death toll rose toward 40,000, expectations of finding many more alive were diminishing and one international team called off its efforts, saying there could be no more survivors.

Experts say 72 hours is generally the longest people can survive if they are trapped in rubble that time passed early yesterday.