Rescuers race against time to save survivors

With the golden 72 hours for rescue running out, Chinese search and rescue teams raced against time on Tuesday to save more people from the earthquake debris in Nepal.

The death toll from the devastating earthquake has risen to 5,057, the country's Home Ministry said on Tuesday.

After a 34-hour battle against twisted reinforced concrete and the aftershocks that followed the magnitude-7.9 earthquake, which struck on Saturday, members of the China International Search and Rescue Team dug out another survivor from the rubble in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu early on Tuesday morning.

The 21-year-old man, identified only as John, was the second survivor the Chinese rescue team has saved since its arrival at the quake-stricken city on Sunday. The first was a 16-year-old Nepali boy who was rescued on Sunday evening, according to Mi Hongguang, media officer for the 62-strong rescue team.

John had been buried for more than 50 hours under a seven-story building that collapsed in the quake.

"The man was buried under a load-bearing wall, so the rescuers had to work carefully to avoid a second collapse," Mi said. "It was the longest nonstop rescue among the international rescue teams in Nepal."

Rescuers had to take turns every 10 minutes to edge into a gap cut in the twisted iron rods to make a hole in the load-bearing wall. The frequent aftershocks made the rescue even more difficult.

The China International Search and Rescue Team, established in 2001, was the first international rescue team with United Nations credentials for major disaster relief missions to arrive in Nepal, according to Mi.

Having searched 20 locations in the northern, northwestern and northeastern areas of Kathmandu, the team is going to expand its search to the southern part of the capital and its suburbs.

Chinese nongovernmental rescue teams have also arrived in Kathmandu in the past three days, showing the increasing significance of China in disaster relief abroad.

Twenty-two rescuers from the Blue Sky Rescue Team, with search and rescue dogs, went straight to a four-story collapsed building in downtown Kathmandu upon their arrival on Monday evening, and they joined members of two other Chinese nongovernmental rescue teams.

Signs of life were detected about 3 meters under the debris, and the Chinese rescuers worked in cold rain. Residents gave the rescuers hot ginger water and milk tea to keep them warm.

People from other neighborhoods sought the help of the Chinese rescuers to seek out possible survivors buried under other collapsed buildings.

"Blue Sky Rescue Team was the first foreign rescue team I met," resident Kadar Sharma told China Daily. "They didn't stop working at night and were very professional and brave.

"As a Nepali, I'm so moved that foreigners have come to our country to help us. I don't know what I can do to help the rescue work, but I will follow them and try my best to offer help whenever they need it," said the 34-year-old manager of a travel agency in Kathmandu, who is now a volunteer guide and driver for the Chinese rescue team.

Due to the limited capacity of Kathmandu Airport, some international flights had to land at airports in New Delhi, India and in Dacca, Bengal. Such inconvenience proved no obstacle to Chinese rescuers. Another 60 members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team were due to fly in and join the rescue effort on Tuesday.

Contact the writers through xujingxi@chinadaily.com.cn