Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    A MAN was rescued early yesterday morning, about 67 hours after being buried by a landslide Sunday in the Hengtaiyu Industrial Park in Guangming New Area in Shenzhen.

    Four more bodies were also found, according to a press conference yesterday.

    Tian Zeming, 21, a native of the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, was pulled from the debris at around 6:30 a.m. and rushed to Guangming New Area Central Hospital. Previous reports said that Tian was 19 years old.

    Following surgery yesterday morning, Tian was conscious and in stable condition, said hospital president Wang Guangming. However, he is extremely weak and dehydrated, and has sustained soft tissue injuries and multiple fractures, Wang said.

    The fallen debris crushed Tian’s shin, but the hospital is doing what it can to save the limb, Wang said.

    Tian was one of 76 people reported missing following the disaster, which occurred just before midday Sunday after a huge pile of construction waste on a hill collapsed, destroying buildings and burying people on its path.

    Rescuers identified Tian’s location at 1 a.m. yesterday. Tian was able to tell rescuers his name and said that there was another survivor near him, who was later found dead.

    Firefighters had to squeeze into the narrow room and remove debris by hand, said Zhang Yabin, a police officer who participated in the rescue.

    Tian’s rescue was extremely difficult. The rescuers had to dig through 8 meters of mud to reach the roof of the building Tian was trapped in. They were able to break through the roof and saw his hand move through the hole.

    “It was difficult because he was right under us. We had to dig another hole 1 meter away and access him from the side instead of from the top,” said Gao Cunyi, an official with Guangdong’s firefighting department.

    Before he was pulled out, Tian was given oxygen and an intravenous drip, Zhang said.

    Wu Wenwei, a firefighter on the scene, said they put a hard hat on Tian to protect him from falling stones loosened by the rescue mission.

    Heavy machinery continues to rake through the thousands of tons of soil and more than 5,000 rescuers are racing against time, despite that the 72-hour golden period for saving lives has ended.

    U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the landslide and expressed his solidarity with the people and government of China, said a statement by Ban’s spokesman.

    The State Council has launched an investigation into the disaster.

    The Shenzhen government was ordered yesterday to evacuate the Hengtaiyu Industrial Park, according to a statement by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

    The displaced should be resettled in safe places, said Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Dou Yupei, calling on local civil affairs departments to go door-to-door to check up the well-being of those in need.

    Social workers and volunteers have been asked to offer counseling to the victims, including relatives of the dead and missing.

    (Special report on P2)

    The ministry also pledged respectful handling of the deceased.