An elderly woman in her 90s has been rescued from under the rubble of a two-story house more than five days after a powerful earthquake struck Japan.
Rescuers found the woman in Suzu City in Ishikawa prefecture on Saturday evening – 124 hours after the quake struck – and took her to a nearby hospital, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK.
On Sunday, a doctor told reporters that the woman is well enough to have conversations, but her legs are injured.
Kume Takanori, a member of the emergency rescue team, told NHK that the woman’s knees had been stuck under furniture within a very narrow space between the first and second floor. It took hours to free her, Takanori said.
Here’s hoping she doesn’t experience crush syndrome after going through such an ordeal.
If she’s not going to be on dialysis, I will be goddamn amazed. Muscle damage (Rhabdomyolysis, I love that word) and dehydration pretty much assures an acute kidney injury. It’s actually a very common diagnosis for the elderly after being in one spot for a prolonged time after a fall.