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That Moment You Meet a Survivor Trapped under the Rubble

(Times of Israel) Yotam Polizer - IsraAID's search and rescue team has been working on the ground or, more accurately, under the ground for the last few days in the heart of the devastated Gongabu district of Kathmandu. We set out on the gruesome task of trying to search and rescue any remaining survivors and bodies at one site where 22 people were thought to be buried under the rubble. Five days on, I admit, I wasn't feeling very optimistic. We're suddenly told that a sound was heard coming from under the rubble. Someone may be alive and trapped inside. We immediately call for additional support and for the next 5 hours we work into the night, leading and coordinating an incredible team of over 130 international search and rescue experts in cooperation with the local authorities. A group from Mexico and Norway work closely with us. A French team joins in and brings a "life scanner." We are amazed to find, it detects a heartbeat! We carefully remove stone after stone with the help of hundreds of local volunteers. I call out, "Is anyone there?" I am utterly stunned to hear a woman's voice cry back, "I'm hurt." We finally get a glimpse of a young woman. We call for a medic who carefully inserts an IV to help rehydrate and stabilize her condition. Krishna Devi Khadaka is 24 and was working at the local guesthouse when the earthquake struck. Inbal Bustan, 24, from Jerusalem, stayed by Krishna's side for the next few hours, reassuring her that everything would be over soon. The writer is the Asia Director for IsraAID.
2015-05-05 00:00:00
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