9th body pulled from Australian landslide
Lone survivor reported in good condition
August 3, 1997
Web posted at: 12:00 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT)THREDBO, Australia (CNN) -- A ninth body was pulled Sunday morning from the wreckage of two Australian ski lodges destroyed by a massive landslide Wednesday, as deteriorating weather began to threaten the rescue effort.
Meanwhile, Stuart Diver, the lone survivor pulled from the rubble, was reported in stable condition at a hospital in Canberra.
Miraculously rescued Saturday after spending more than 2 1/2 days beneath a concrete slab in freezing temperatures, the 30-year-old ski instructor suffered only frostbite and minor scrapes. He could be out of the hospital in a day or two, though he may have to undergo surgery because of the frostbite.
His wife, Sally, was among the 10 people still believed to be missing in the debris.
Diagram of Stuart Diver's position in the rubble As the rescue effort continued overnight Saturday, workers were forced to stop several times because of dangerously shifting rubble. On Sunday morning, rain clouds began to gather in the skies over Thredbo, and officials expressed concerns that the rain might cause tunnels dug through the rubble to collapse.
"The big fear that we have at the moment is that the weather might break," said police Superintendent Charlie Sanderson. "If it rains, that area would be so much more dangerous."
Investigators are trying to determine what caused the hillside to give way in the popular ski resort town, located in Australia's Snowy Mountains southwest of Sydney. They are reportedly focusing on whether groundwater might have made the heavily developed hillside unstable.
Onlookers cheer Diver rescue
Some onlookers cheered, others wept when Diver was carried on a stretcher to an ambulance. His brother was one of the rescuers who helped dig him out of the rubble.
"Come on, Stewie. Good on ya, Stewie!" cried fellow ski instructors, as rescue teams patted each other on the back.
Once Diver was brought to the surface, he exclaimed, "That sky is fantastic!"
Diver's first words, told by a rescue team worker Steve Hirst 
352 K / 29 sec. AIFF or WAV sound 
Diver is described by friends as a fitness fanatic and survival expert. He survived the ordeal trapped between two slabs of concrete, which saved him from being crushed by tons of rubble and debris.
Emergency crews first detected Diver after sensitive monitoring equipment picked up his muffled sounds. A rescue worker described how he first heard signs of life.
"I got the chain saw knocked off, lay down on my stomach and made contact, yelled out: 'Rescue team working overhead, can anyone hear me?'" explained fire brigade worker Steve Hirst.
"I can hear you!" Diver called back.
After establishing contact with Diver, rescuers managed to feed him a liquid nutrient solution, and warm air was pumped near him to help raise his body temperature, as overnight temperatures in Thredbo, where it is winter, dropped to minus 12 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit).
The discovery of Diver came after rescuers had nearly given up hope of finding any of the people still missing. On Friday, police had described as "infinitesimally small" the chances that anyone would still be found alive.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- 'Miracle rescue' in Australian landslide - August 2, 1997
- Man found alive in Australian resort rubble - August 1, 1997
- Australia landslide toll rises, hopes fading - August 1, 1997
Related sites:
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- DisasterRelief.org
- Hope Fades for Finding Survivors in Australian Landslide - August 1, 1997
- Thredbo
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