By Cai Shanshan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-05-16 17:44

Beijing -- Zhang Zhoukai, head of a law enforcement committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beichuan country, is rescued from the rubble at 5:13 pm Thursday, after being trapped for 75 hours. He and two other colleagues were in good condition.

Zhang and 10 other colleagues were buried in the ruins when the 5-story office building of the Beichuan county government collapsed in a 7.8-magnitude earthquake which hit Southwest China's Sichuan Province Monday afternoon.

At 1:00 pm Thursday, Zhang and his two colleagues were found alive under the debris. Rescuers worked for four hours to rescue them to safety. The trio did all they could to stay alive while waiting to be rescued.

"At first we were separated by the debris. But we kept digging and finally managed to get together," recalled Li Guichuan, Zhang's deputy. "We laid hands on bottled water in the digging process. And the water was finished, we resorted to drinking urine. We never stopped clawing. When we heard voices outside, we started yelling."

"The successful rescue of Zhang and the other two officials boosted the confidence of the rescue teams," Jin Dazhong, head of the Beichuan county government, told reporters.

A lot of local government officials are still missing.

As of 4 pm Thursday, more than 20,000 people were confirmed dead and the final toll is expected to reach 50,000 as more than 25,000 are still buried under the rubble.