It seemed like a miracle, but it was really the result of a lot of hard work, patience and perseverance.
Chang Jing-hung (
Chang was pulled from the Dynasty Building (
The leader of the South Korean team said that while Chang's legs were pinned beneath a concrete pillar he had remained concious throughout the entire ordeal.
"The first thing he told us was to find the rest of his family," the team leader said.
Chang's aunt comforted him after he was pulled from the wreckage, as he told her that all he wanted was a soft drink.
"He was so calm when I saw him," the aunt told reporters later. "I told him not to worry, that we would get him out."
While doctors said Chang was lucky, in that he was only suffering from dehydration, they cautioned that some form of trauma might lie ahead since he was still unaware that his parents and siblings were most likely dead inside the rubble.
Yet it was a miracle, a much-needed miracle. Because for people in towns such as Tungshih, Wufeng and Fengyuan things look grim. Roads remain buckled, many bridges are still knocked out.
When President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) arrived in Wufeng (霧峰) yesterday to inspect the damage, a resident of nearby Shuangchi (雙崎) yelled out: "There are many people dead, my relatives, too, Mr President! You must assign someone to help us!"
Although Lee heard the plea, he turned away to speak with Tai-chung County commissioner Liao Jung-lai (
Meanwhile, search-and-rescue teams from overseas kept up their back-breaking work, undaunted by the heat or the hours.
A French team flew from Nantou to Taichung early in the morning yesterday to join an ongoing rescue mission at the Golden Paris Society (金巴黎社區) building in Tali.
"We regret to say that nobody has been found up to now. But we will not give up," Jean-Jacques Pelletier, leader of the French rescue team, said in English.
Despite the rescue efforts, Liao told Lee that the Disaster Rescue and Prevention center had decided to demolish all collapsed buildings beginning at 6am today.
"We estimate that there are over 90,000 residents who have lost their houses," Liao said. "And now the rescue center must find places to build shelters. At the moment, we can provide shelter for only 20,000 to 30,000 people."
Rain was another worry in central Taiwan.
"The mountain ranges were convulsed by Tuesday's earthquake, and if we get rain now, many areas will be flooded with mud," Lin Su-choung (林淑瓊), a school principal in Wufeng, said.
* In related news, a military helicopter transporting supplies to mountainous areas crashed-landed in Hoping Township in Taichung County.
All three crew members escaped unharmed. However, as a result of the accident, the military has grounded all helicopters operating in the county for this morning, meaning that supply efforts will be temporarily hampered.
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