Man Trapped for 15 Hours Under Quake Rubble Records His Ordeal

Jan 17, 2024 | News On Japan

Ishikawa, Jan 17, 2024 (News On Japan) - A quake survivor who managed to call for help while trapped under his partially collapsed house, recorded his ordeal on his phone for 38 seconds, while he was buried alive.

The footage shows fallen timber and debris within the wreckage of his house in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and you can hear 52-year-old Mr. Tatsumi breathing hard.

Mr. Tatsumi was trapped for about 15 hours.

On New Year's Day, Suzu City was struck by two strong tremors, one registering a lower 6 on the Japanese scale.

After the first tremor, Mr. Tatsumi tried to leave his house, but...

Mitsutoshi Tatsumi: 'During the second tremor (lower 6), a chest of drawers fell over, the ceiling came down, and before I knew it, I was buried alive. I couldn’t move at all, and it was pitch dark.'

Mr. Tatsumi, trapped under a fallen pillar on the first floor, managed to move his hand and record with his phone.

Mitsutoshi Tatsumi: 'I probably did it subconsciously. As part of my job in local news, it's natural to record anything that happens. I don’t even remember recording it.'

Right after the earthquake, a major tsunami warning was issued for Suzu City. Knowing this through the disaster prevention radio and with his house about 200 meters from the sea, Mr. Tatsumi thought...

Mitsutoshi Tatsumi: 'I thought I would drown if a tsunami came. That was all I could think of.'

Mr. Tatsumi had resigned himself to death, but thankfully, the tsunami did not hit.

Several hours after being buried, although his cell phone had been out of service, it suddenly...

Mitsutoshi Tatsumi:'I checked it occasionally and saw one bar of signal, so I called my brother.'

The call for help went to his brother Yoshihiro (59), who was at an evacuation center. It was around 1:30 AM.

Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Rescuer and Brother: 'He called me on his cell phone, asking for help. I asked, “Where are you?” and he said, “At home.” The signal was bad, and the call got cut off.'

Yoshihiro immediately went to their home, but it was too dark for a rescue, so it was not until morning, with the help of neighbors, that Mitsutoshi was rescued through a window.

Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Rescuer and Brother: 'His legs were trembling. When I said, “You’ve been saved,” he just nodded.'

The photo taken after the rescue shows blood on his face. He also had fractured ribs.

Mitsutoshi Tatsumi, who was buried alive for about 15 hours: 'I’m just grateful. It feels more like I was saved rather than I survived.'

Source: TBS

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