A 101-year-old man was rescued 168 hours after the Nepal earthquake
The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Nepal last Saturday is still tragically climbing. According to ABC, so far over 7,000 were killed and over 14,000 were injured. But from the wreckage also come stories of miracles. Most notably, a 101-year-old man was uncovered alive in the rubble one full week after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit, the same day that officials ruled out any possibility of finding survivors.
Yesterday, the National Emergency Operation Center tweeted that they had rescued the man, Phanchu Tamang, from the Nuwakot Kimtang village:
According to ABC, police initially said he had been trapped in his demolished home for a week, but he was actually rescued from the garden of his home a week after the quake. He only sustained minor injuries — to his hand and ankle.
“I don’t know if it is luck but I am a strong man . . . I work in the field and I walk every day,” Tamang told Agence France-Presse. He was rescued by his daughter-in-law, and after being brought to the hospital in a helicopter, his condition is now stable.
Another miracle survival of the quake was a 5-month-old baby, Sonies Aawal, who was rescued after being trapped for 22 hours, according to Buzzfeed.
Despite this happy news, the devastation in Nepal is still cripplingly real. According to a CNN report earlier today, “The scene is one of complete devastation. The mountainside is dotted with white stones marking graves of the freshly buried. Ninety-five percent of the homes here are destroyed — those that survived are made of brick and concrete, as opposed to the stone and timber construction that predominates.”
We are so happy about the rescue of Phanchu Tamang, but our hearts still ache for those who have been lost. It’s not too late to help by donating to International Medical Corps.
Our thoughts are with the people of Nepal and their families.
