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Trapped Indonesian quake victim sends text message
An earthquake survivor trapped in a collapsed hotel in western Indonesia sent a text message saying he and some others were alive, triggering a frantic rescue operation on Saturday.
- Agencies
- Published: 10:13 October 3, 2009
- Image Credit: AP
- Indonesian rescue teams mask up from the dust and stench of decomposing bodies in Padang, Indonesia
Padang: An earthquake survivor trapped in a collapsed hotel in western Indonesia sent a text message saying he and some others were alive, triggering a frantic rescue operation on Saturday.
Padang's police chief said voices and claps were heard from survivors buried in the Ambacang Hotel since Wednesday's 7.6-magnitude earthquake, which killed at least 715 people.
"We estimate there are still eight people trapped alive under Ambacang Hotel," said Col. Boy Rafli Amar. "We are still trying hard to evacuate them."
He said one survivor who had been staying in Room 338 of the hotel sent a text message to relatives on Friday, saying he and some others are still alive. The relatives then informed the authorities, he said.
As he spoke, rescuers used earth-moving equipment, backhoes and drills to try and break a passage through thick slabs of concrete of the six-story hotel.
The quake devastated more than 100 kilometres along the western coast of Sumatra island, prompting a huge international aid operation in a country that sits on a major geological fault zone and has dozens of quakes every year.
The United Nations estimated the death toll could rise to 1,100. More than 2,400 people have been hospitalised, said Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for the national disaster agency.
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