ISLAMABAD, 2 November 2005 — A 45-year-old man was rescued by his family in a remote village after 21 days under the debris of a house destroyed in the Oct. 8 earthquake.
The News said Muhammad Saeed was found alive on Sunday when his family was digging in the rubble that had been their house looking for their belongings in Gangwal village in Alai subdistrict of the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP).
The family had presumed Saeed had been killed in a nearby jungle by the earthquake that left thousands dead.
“Nobody saw him come back from the jungle and everybody thought he must have died there,” local municipal administrator, Abdul Sattar, told the English-language newspaper.
He added: “They (family members) were shocked when they heard the voice of Saeed under the rubble after 21 days.”
Saeed, who had been suffering from mental illness before the earthquake, was seriously traumatized but otherwise suffered no injuries, Sattar said.
“His mental health has deteriorated after being buried there for 21 days without food, water or anything else,” he added.
