'Miracle' rescue from quake rubble
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The woman appeared in remarkably good health.
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BAM, Iran (Reuters) -- Iranian rescue workers pulled a woman, believed to be in her 90s, alive and unscathed from the rubble in Bam on Saturday, more than eight full days after an earthquake destroyed the city.
"God kept me alive," Shahrbanou Mazandarani told Red Crescent officials in hospital after her dramatic rescue from the ruins of a collapsed building.
Mazandarani appeared in remarkably good health as she received attention in a Red Crescent tent despite the long odds against surviving for eight-and-a-half days after the quake that killed at least 30,000 people and destroyed most of the city.
"She doesn't have a single scratch on her face," Red Crescent spokeswoman Masoumeh Malek told Reuters. "She can talk to us and answer our questions. When I ask her something she says 'yes dear.'"
Mazandarani, found wrapped in a blanket, was located first by sniffer dogs on Saturday afternoon. Iranian soldiers spotted a hand protruding from the rubble and thought it belonged to a corpse.
"It's a miracle," said Red Crescent worker Abdollah Moundehali. "She had been half sheltered in a corner by a bit of wood that toppled on top of her."
Dariush Shirvani, one of the rescue workers who helped dig Mazandarani out, said: "We heard a weak voice from the rubble. It took three hours to dig her out."
The Red Crescent initially said she was "about 60" but later said she was aged 97 and neighbours said she was 98. State television reported her age as 95.
Red Crescent officials said Mazandarani, wearing a dark blue blouse and brown headscarf, was "in her 50s."
"Chai" (Persian for tea) was among the first words she uttered. When handed a cup of tea, she pushed it away and said: "It's hot. Don't give it to me now."
There have been no survivors found in the devastated city since Thursday when three people were rescued. Experts say it is extremely unlikely to survive even beyond three days without food or water in such conditions.
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