Survivors' accounts

Several vehicles are seen buried during a landslide at the road from Zhaotong to Qiaojia county during the earthquake on Sunday. Zhai Jian / For China Daily

Man rescued after 20 hours in quake rubble

A 22-year-old man was rescued on Monday after being buried in the rubble of a house for almost 20 hours, after a serious earthquake hit Ludian county, Yunnan province, on Sunday afternoon, according to China News Service.

About 11:30 am on Monday, Yang Guoyun, a villager in Longtoushan township, was rescued with the help of an excavator, the service said.

Yang was on a third-floor building with his mother when the quake occurred at 4:30 pm on Sunday, and the two were both buried when the building collapsed, according to the report.

When he was rescued, Yang said he was thirsty and wanted to drink, the report added. His mother did not survive.

Face to face with death

A quake survivor saw a close relative getting fatally hit by falling debris right in front of him during a family gathering on Sunday, when the magnitude-6.5 tremor struck southwest China's Yunnan province, the Yunnan Information Newspaper, a local media, reported.

"We were enjoying a hot spring bath when the earthquake hit," said Wang Xiong, a resident in Ludian, the quake epicenter, adding that he saw rocks falling down the hills.

Wang picked up his baby immediately and ran out of the pool despite a falling rock injuring his right ankle.

"There were about 300 to 400 people enjoying the hot spring in different pools. Some were hit by rocks and fell in the pool, which was instantly stained red by the blood," Wang said.

A rock hit one of his elderly female relatives in the belly.

She died on the way to the hospital, Wang said.

Mother carries injured son to hospital barefoot

Wang Jiao was reluctant to talk about the magnitude-6.5 earthquake that hit her hometown in Zhaotong city, Yunnan province, on Sunday afternoon.

"I was on a mountain with my husband when the quake happened, and the strong tremor made it hard for us to stand," Yunnan Information Newspaper quoted Wang as saying.

After about 30 seconds, Wang rushed to her home, to find other family members buried under the collapsed building, the paper said.

Wang dug her son, Tang Haoxuan, and his grandfather, out of the house, but the old man was dead, according to the paper.

To get treatment for her injured son, Wang carried him to the county hospital, walking without shoes although the road to Ludian county had been seriously damaged, the paper said.

She arrived at the hospital at 11 pm on Sunday, where her son received simple treatment, the report said, adding that the boy's legs and head were injured in the house collapse.

Couple digs four children from collapsed home

A couple dug their four children out of their collapsed home using garden hoes after a massive earthquake hit Ludian county in Zhaotong city, Yunnan province, on Sunday afternoon, news portal yunnan.cn reported on Monday.

Luo Faming and his wife were picking red peppers in their yard while their four children watched TV inside when the quake occurred at 4:30 pm on Sunday, the report said.

"Our house made of soil shook strongly at that time and later collapsed," Luo told the website, adding all four children were buried under the rubble.

"I was shocked and asked my wife to help dig our children out quickly with hoes," the website quoted the father as saying. "I dug my eldest son out first and he looked good, which comforted me to some extent."

Neighbors of the couple came to help and the other three children were also rescued, the report said.

Three of the children were injured in the house collapse, one of whom suffered serious injuries and is in a coma, the report said.

The couple transported their four children to a hospital, but it took them almost two hours to travel 10 kilometers of damaged road, the report said, adding that the worst injured child has been taken to Zhaotong for further treatment.

"My wife accompanied our seriously injured child to Zhaotong city, but I cannot contact them, as my cellphone was lost in the quake," Luo told the website.

- China Daily