PAKISTAN: A three-year-old girl was last night pulled from the rubble of her parents' house, eight days after the earthquake that devastated northern Pakistan.
The dramatic rescue, which defied predictions that no more survivors would be found, came after many international rescue teams had abandoned their search and started to return home. The alarm was raised after the girl's brothers, aged seven and nine, walked five miles to safety from their flattened mountain village, army spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said. "She is absolutely fine now. It's a big example of survival." Only hours earlier President Pervez Musharraf said it would take a "miracle" to find anyone alive after eight days. The top UN disaster official put the chances of finding more survivors at "almost nil".
The children's parents died in the 7.6-magnitude quake and a series of giant landslides cut the highland hamlet of Sanger off from most relief operations.
But the two boys still managed to carry one of their sisters, a seven-month-old baby, down the mountain trails to Balakot, one of the worst-affected towns. The brothers then led soldiers back to the flattened house where their second sister, who has polio, was trapped. "They are the real heroes," said Maj Sultan.
Experts estimate most earthquake victims are able to last a maximum of seven days. Children have a higher survival rate than adults thanks to their small size and because their bodies are better at "shutting down" and conserving energy.
On Friday rescuers saved an 18-month-old girl in what was thought would be the last "miracle" of the earthquake, whose death toll rose sharply to more than 40,000 with another 62,000 injured.
While international relief agencies are starting to arrive in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, aid has been spearheaded in some parts by Islamic militants of Jamaat-ud Dawa, one of Pakistan's most prominent Islamist groups.
Jamaat ud-Dawa is seen as a fundraising front for Lashkar-i-Taiba, one of the largest groups fighting Indian troops in Kashmir. Some members have been linked to al-Qaeda.Other Islamic groups that have rushed help into the quake zone include al-Rasheed Trust, which the US claims has channelled funds to al-Qaeda.