For victims still trapped underneath the earthquake rubble, chances of survival are fading. But firefighters are pressing on with hopes of finding signs of life.
For victims still trapped underneath the earthquake rubble, chances of survival are fading. But firefighters are pressing on with hopes of finding signs of life.
A residential building on Yudaiqiao Street collapsed during the quake. The Chengdu Fire-fighting Detachment, with the support of firefighters from Shandong and Yunnan Provinces, searched the area for survivors throughout the night.
Using their own electricity generators to illuminate the site, they worked closely with their sniffer dog to find people who might still be alive.
Firefighter said, "We could rescue people buried 5 meter under the debris, if the density of the debris isn't too high."
The firefighters took their sniffer dog underneath the rubbles. The operation was especially dangerous because any moment there could be further collapse.
A total of 180 firefighters were dispatched for the operation. They were divided into 10 teams to search over 100 toppled buildings in 10 districts in Dujiangyan.
After an hour's work, the sniffer dog and life-detecting instrument both showed signs that there were people still trapped underneath one corner of the collapsed building.
Firefighter said, "There are sounds in there, but they don't sound like someone knocking. Because people make sounds following a certain order. They make them quickly or slowly, one sound after another."
The firefighters could not determine whether there were indeed people still alive inside. So they broke through the debris to find out.
After making sure there were no one there, the firefighters moved on to the next site. Dawn was just breaking out.
(CCTV May 20, 2008)