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CNN Live Saturday

97 Year-Old Survivor Buried In Rubble In Iran

Aired January 03, 2004 - 12:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, more than a week after the quake in Iran, the search for signs of life goes on, and today, rescuers had reasons to cheer. The 97-year-old woman pulled out of the rubble alive is said to be weak and in shock, but in good condition overall. As Bam copes with the disaster, life does move on. Today, at least four babies have been born in that devastated city since the quake.
The latest now from CNN's Kasra Naji in Bam -- Kasra.

KASRA NAJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, yes, nine days after this devastating earthquake, they've been digging bodies up, still today, but today there was also an exception. They brought up a lady, a 97-year-old woman from under the rubble, alive. And this is remarkable, Iranian Red Crescent, which is the Moslem version or Moslem equivalent of the Red Cross in the West; they say their aide workers found this lady in this house, the roof had collapsed, but she managed -- according to the aide workers, she managed to survive because she was in a cavity covered by a cupboard on one side and a bean on the other side. And they say also, she benefited from a air shaft that belonged to the air conditioner. So she was there, and she was in a remarkable health, actually. Not expecting that from a 97- year-old woman who's been under rubble for nearly nine days. Very remarkable, indeed.

I have here, to discuss this, a representative from the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, Denis McLean.

Dennis, she was in a remarkably good health, wasn't she?

DENIS MCCLEAN, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETY: Indeed she was. I saw her just after she was rescued and brought to the Red Crescent headquarter, here in Bam, and she looked remarkably serene and alert, given the circumstances of her recovery. She -- the first thing she said to one of the Red Crescent volunteers was that she was very cold and she asked for a hot cup of tea, and then complained that it was too hot and asked for it be spoon-fed to her.

NAJI: What you've seen is consistent with somebody who has been under rubble for eight or nine days?

MCCLEAN: Well, not at all consistent with it, because as far from what one would expect from a 97-year-old woman who had been trapped in the rubble for eight days without obvious access to food, for example. It's a remarkable exper -- it's remarkable discovery. I've never come across anything like it in a previous disaster of this scale. And the doctor who treated her first, said that -- you know, it's a miracle, there's no real explanation for it, beyond the fact that she's an elderly woman and her metabolism rate may have been so reduced that that enabled her to survive this length of time.

NAJI: You've been to -- you're a veteran of various earthquakes, I know. Have you come across anything like this before, nine days after the event and 97-year-old woman?

MCCLEAN: No, this is a first for sure. We've certainly come across people who've survived for longer periods underground or trapped in pockets of air with access to a certain amount of food and water, but this is really quite remarkable.

NAJI: Denis, thank you very much. So, there you have it. They say miracles do happen and this may well be one -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well Kasra, perhaps equally miraculous might be the birth of these four babies since the quake. Can you give us a sense as to the condition of those babies and their mothers?

MCCLEAN: Absolutely. Where I'm standing Fredricka, is outside the field hospital of the American aid team here, and they've been busy, last night, delivering babies. And this is remarkable. They have four babies, they delivered four perfect babies last night. And I've been told that there are two more pregnant mothers here and that they are expecting them to deliver during the night, tonight. I talked to some of the mothers. Sad stories, because this is, of course, -- this devastation, this catastrophe here. I talked to one of the mothers whose husband has died, and she said her home has been destroyed. She and the baby didn't have anywhere to go, in fact. And the plan was, as she told me they wanted to go to a house belonging to the relatives in a nearby village. So she was -- at the same time, it was sad, very sad and very happy at the same time. It was one of those things. I guess it's an indication or reminder that for the survivors, life goes on -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kasra Naji, thanks very much for that update from Bam.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 3, 2004 - 12:19   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, more than a week after the quake in Iran, the search for signs of life goes on, and today, rescuers had reasons to cheer. The 97-year-old woman pulled out of the rubble alive is said to be weak and in shock, but in good condition overall. As Bam copes with the disaster, life does move on. Today, at least four babies have been born in that devastated city since the quake.
The latest now from CNN's Kasra Naji in Bam -- Kasra.

KASRA NAJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, yes, nine days after this devastating earthquake, they've been digging bodies up, still today, but today there was also an exception. They brought up a lady, a 97-year-old woman from under the rubble, alive. And this is remarkable, Iranian Red Crescent, which is the Moslem version or Moslem equivalent of the Red Cross in the West; they say their aide workers found this lady in this house, the roof had collapsed, but she managed -- according to the aide workers, she managed to survive because she was in a cavity covered by a cupboard on one side and a bean on the other side. And they say also, she benefited from a air shaft that belonged to the air conditioner. So she was there, and she was in a remarkable health, actually. Not expecting that from a 97- year-old woman who's been under rubble for nearly nine days. Very remarkable, indeed.

I have here, to discuss this, a representative from the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, Denis McLean.

Dennis, she was in a remarkably good health, wasn't she?

DENIS MCCLEAN, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETY: Indeed she was. I saw her just after she was rescued and brought to the Red Crescent headquarter, here in Bam, and she looked remarkably serene and alert, given the circumstances of her recovery. She -- the first thing she said to one of the Red Crescent volunteers was that she was very cold and she asked for a hot cup of tea, and then complained that it was too hot and asked for it be spoon-fed to her.

NAJI: What you've seen is consistent with somebody who has been under rubble for eight or nine days?

MCCLEAN: Well, not at all consistent with it, because as far from what one would expect from a 97-year-old woman who had been trapped in the rubble for eight days without obvious access to food, for example. It's a remarkable exper -- it's remarkable discovery. I've never come across anything like it in a previous disaster of this scale. And the doctor who treated her first, said that -- you know, it's a miracle, there's no real explanation for it, beyond the fact that she's an elderly woman and her metabolism rate may have been so reduced that that enabled her to survive this length of time.

NAJI: You've been to -- you're a veteran of various earthquakes, I know. Have you come across anything like this before, nine days after the event and 97-year-old woman?

MCCLEAN: No, this is a first for sure. We've certainly come across people who've survived for longer periods underground or trapped in pockets of air with access to a certain amount of food and water, but this is really quite remarkable.

NAJI: Denis, thank you very much. So, there you have it. They say miracles do happen and this may well be one -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well Kasra, perhaps equally miraculous might be the birth of these four babies since the quake. Can you give us a sense as to the condition of those babies and their mothers?

MCCLEAN: Absolutely. Where I'm standing Fredricka, is outside the field hospital of the American aid team here, and they've been busy, last night, delivering babies. And this is remarkable. They have four babies, they delivered four perfect babies last night. And I've been told that there are two more pregnant mothers here and that they are expecting them to deliver during the night, tonight. I talked to some of the mothers. Sad stories, because this is, of course, -- this devastation, this catastrophe here. I talked to one of the mothers whose husband has died, and she said her home has been destroyed. She and the baby didn't have anywhere to go, in fact. And the plan was, as she told me they wanted to go to a house belonging to the relatives in a nearby village. So she was -- at the same time, it was sad, very sad and very happy at the same time. It was one of those things. I guess it's an indication or reminder that for the survivors, life goes on -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kasra Naji, thanks very much for that update from Bam.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com