Tsunami survivors found

Elderly woman and teenage boy found alive among ruins of their home in Ishinomaki Nine days after they were believed killed by the tsunami, an elderly woman and a teenage boy were found alive in the rubble of their home in north-east Japan on Sunday. The 80-year-old and her grandson survived by eating yoghurt and other remains from the refrigerator after being trapped in their home in Ishinomaki, one of the worst-hit cities on the coast. They were found by police when 16-year-old Jin Abe called out for help from the roof of their residence. He had been trapped for a week and managed to pull himself from the debris and alert rescue workers. His grandmother, Sumi Abe, is disabled and could not leave the property unaided. When she was found, she had lost feeling in at least one of her legs. The national broadcaster, NHK, has run images of a helicopter winching her out of danger in a yellow harness The pair are receiving medical treatment in the city’s Red Cross hospital. The astonishing rescue has given a much-needed boost to emergency workers amid a growing death toll from Japan’s deadliest disaster since the second world war. The casualty list stands at 8,277 dead and 12,722 missing and the figure is rising daily. Ishinomaki officials believe up to 10,000 people in their jurisdiction may have been killed. Japan disaster Japan Natural disasters and extreme weather Jonathan Watts guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 20, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.