Eighth person rescued in Changsha building collapse

CHANGSHA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- An eighth survivor has been pulled from the rubble 79 hours after a self-built residential building collapsed in central China's Hunan Province, according to Xinhua reporters at the scene.

The young woman was rescued at around 7:20 p.m. Monday, despite more than three days having passed since the disaster.

The collapse took place at 12:24 p.m. on Friday, in Wangcheng District in the provincial capital Changsha. A total of 23 people are believed to have been trapped in the building, according to a preliminary investigation.

Liu Xiangfeng, a medical expert with the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, said that the victim rescued on Monday had had her lower limbs pinned down by falling debris, creating great difficulty for the rescue workers.

The emergency medical team used infusion tubes measuring about 3 meters long to deliver normal saline solution to her. They were also able to provide her with first-aid to stop bleeding and relieve pain before she was successfully brought out.

Rescuers are continuing their search for further survivors, despite the expiry of the 72-hour "golden period," and the rescue site remains brightly lit.

They have built cement structures to navigate the rubble safely and avoided the use of machinery in order to avoid creating vibrations. The on-site manual search process is being aided by life-detectors and search-and-rescue dogs.