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Man saved 60 hours after landslide
Updated: 2010-08-11 13:37
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Rescuers saved a 52-year-old man from the ruins of an apartment building on Tuesday morning, about 60 hours after the country's deadliest landslide killed at least 702 people and leveled this county in Gansu province.
A team of rescuers from neighboring Sichuan province lifted Liu Ma Shindan from the debris at 11:20 am, authorities said.
Liu's heart rate and blood pressure were normal and there were no apparent injuries, said Du Bin, a doctor from Beijing Union Hospital who was helping with the rescue work.
Healthcare workers gave Liu first aid at the site. A military helicopter was scheduled to take him to Lanzhou, the provincial capital, for medical treatment on Tuesday afternoon.
The number of people missing from the landslide stood at 1,042, according to figures released by the provincial civil affairs department on Tuesday afternoon.
Most of the missing are believed to be trapped in the rubble of their homes that were destroyed by the landslide that hit Zhouqu early on Sunday.
The country's top leaders on Tuesday called for greater efforts to save lives, although prospects of finding survivors were getting dimmer. Chances of survival for victims can drop significantly 72 hours after a disaster, rescue analysts have said.
Authorities must carry out effective operations, take more forceful measures and make the most of every second to save those trapped, members of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee's Political Bureau said in a statement after a meeting. President Hu Jintao presided over the meeting.
Authorities should also guard against secondary geological hazards, transport people affected to safe areas and provide them with sufficient shelter, food, drinking water and medical services, it said.
More than 7,000 strained troops - mostly armed with shovels, hoes and rope - were battling through sludge and rubble round-the-clock to find survivors.
A number of rescuers said their simple tools were inadequate to carry out excavation work and heavy machinery could not be trucked in on the submerged roads.
Questions:
1. After how many hours was the 52-year-old rescued?
2. How many are dead?
3. How many are missing
Answers:
1. 60 hours.
2. 702.
3. 1,042.
（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.
