Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 9, 1995 TAG: 9507100096
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA LENGTH: Medium
``Save me. Please save me. Water. Quickly,'' rescuers quoted Choi Myong-suk, 21, as saying in a faint voice that alerted them to life in the debris.
Korean television broadcast the rescue scene live to a nationwide audience as workers using torches and power drills cut through concrete slabs and pulled Choi free an hour later.
Choi was found in what had been the upscale Sampoong Department Store's first basement, the underground level closest to the surface. He was a part-time worker on the second floor and had gone to eat at a restaurant below.
More than 900 people were injured when the five-story mall caved in June 29 in one of South Korea's worst peacetime disasters. Rescuers had given up on finding anyone else alive and begun using heavy equipment to remove debris.
As the work went on, Choi's father and uncle, both volunteer rescue workers, and his mother rushed to the scene. The parents appeared to be almost in shock.
``I couldn't believe it when they told me he was dead,'' the uncle, Choi Dong-suk, told SBS-TV. ``I can't believe it now that he is alive. I called out to him, `Myong-suk,' and he responded. He sounded healthy. I said, `Don't worry.' ''
Shirtless, Choi was carried in a stretcher to a waiting ambulance, a towel around his head to protect his eyes from the overcast daylight.
An aunt who rode in the ambulance, Ko Chung-soon, said medics tried to put an oxygen mask on Choi's face, but he pushed it away, saying he wanted to talk.
At the hospital, Choi told reporters he was unhurt. After being reunited with his parents, he said his only wishes were food and a cola.
``I thought, is this a dream, or is this real?'' his mother said.
``I feel like I could fly,'' said his father, Choi Bong-ryul, 52, still wearing his hard hat.
Choi said he was forced to squat the entire time, had nothing to eat and survived on rainwater that seeped through the wreckage.
``I slept when I got sleepy,'' he said, surprised when told how long he had been trapped. ``What was most difficult was that when it wasn't raining, there wasn't any water.
``I thought of my parents, my friends. I did think that I would die. There were others around me, but they are dead. There was a woman next to me, but she died. Before she died, she said she would go first.''
The spot where Choi was found, in the center of the debris, was considered one of the least likely places for survivors. But doctors at the scene said Choi appeared to be in relatively good health, considering his long ordeal.
As they worked, rescuers communicated with Choi and could see him wave a hand.
It was not known how he survived so long. The human body usually cannot last more than three days without water. However, a South Korean coal miner trapped by a 1967 cave-in was rescued after 16 days.
The last people pulled alive from the wreckage were 24 cleaners who were rescued from a largely intact basement room 71/2 days ago. Choi also worked at the complex, although his duties were not immediately known.
Rescue work has been hampered by the arrival Saturday of heavy rains, part of the July monsoon season. Concerns have arisen about the possibility of disease with more rapid decomposition of bodies in the warm, humid conditions.
by CNB