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HONG KONG: The chances of finding survivors in the
rubble after a devastating earthquake in China are fading
fast, a rescue expert said, as his British group struggled to gain
permission to enter the country.
“Most people are saved in the
first three or four days,” said Willie McMartin, director of
British-based charity International Rescue Corps, which has helped
save people in disasters across the world.
“People can survive up to 15
days, but that is when you are talking about miracles and miracles
do not happen very often.
“We would normally slow down
our rescue operations a week after the earthquake happened,” he
told Agence France-Presse in Hong Kong, where his 10-strong team are
trying to secure permission to enter China to help find survivors in
areas destroyed by Monday’s quake.
By 2 p.m. Thursday, it was 72
hours since the 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck, leaving more than
40,000 dead or missing in southwestern Sichuan province, many buried
under collapsed buildings or landslides.
But despite the tragedy, China
has been slow to let rescue teams enter its territory, and McMartin
said unless they get permission later Thursday or early today, they
will be unable to provide much assistance.
“We have had problems getting
into other countries before, but generally it is not as bad,” said
McMartin, whose team have helped rescue efforts following many major
disasters, including quakes in Turkey, Pakistan and El Salvador.
He added that if the charity had
not been given permission to enter by Saturday, it would be forced
to drop its plans.
“That would be a travesty . . .
We have not come here to dig up bodies, we have come here to rescue
people,” he said.
McMartin’s volunteer team,
which includes firefighters, medical professionals and engineers,
tried to confirm permission before leaving the UK, but were told
they would only be able to apply when they arrived in Hong Kong.
China has been reluctant to allow
foreign teams to enter its territory, and only gave permission for a
Japanese rescue group to provide assistance on Thursday.
Teams from Hong Kong and Taiwan,
which China considers part of its territory, have also been allowed
to enter.
However, both Australia and South
Korea earlier said Beijing had declined offers of help, despite the
race against time to rescue survivors trapped under rubble in towns
scattered across the remote and mountainous disaster zone.
China has recently stepped up its
border controls ahead of the Olympic Games, making it more difficult
for both tourists and business travelers to enter the country,
travel agents have said.
One girl was pulled from the
rubble 50 hours after her school was destroyed, state media said.
--AFP
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