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BEICHUAN - A THREE-YEAR-OLD girl trapped for more than 40 hours under the bodies of her parents was pulled to safety yesterday morning in Beichuan county, one of the worst-hit areas.
Rescuers found Song Xinyi on Tuesday morning, but were unable to get her out right away because they feared the rubble above her would collapse. She was fed and shielded from rain until rescuers extricated her.
The little girl suffered serious leg injuries but was able to speak.
'She explained the three Chinese characters that made up her name, and told everybody she loved painting and watching TV. Despite a coin-sized wound on her forehead, she still looked pretty,' the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Doctors said immediate surgery was probably the only way to save her legs.
Premier Wen Jiabao, who visited Beichuan yesterday morning, spent some time with the girl before she was sent by ambulance to hospital, Xinhua said.
Up to 5,000 people were said to be dead in the mountainous county of about 20,000 people, located about 160km north-east of the epicentre at Wenchuan county.
The quake toppled 80 per cent of the buildings in the area. In Beichuan Middle School alone, at least 1,000 students were buried under collapsed buildings.
XINHUA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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