Rescuers assist 80-year-old Sumi Abe from her ruined home in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Sunday. (Photo by Kota Takeda)
Jin Abe, 16, is airlifted to a hospital after being rescued with his grandmother in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Sunday. (Photo by Yasuhiro Sugimoto)
Akira Abe, the father of Jin Abe, breaks into a smile as he responds to reporters'
questions in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Sunday. (Photo by Erina Ito)
Editor's note: We will update our earthquake news as frequently as possible on AJW's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/AJW.Asahi. Please check the latest developments in this disaster. From Toshio Jo, managing editor, International Division, The Asahi Shimbun.
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Sunday's rescue of an 80-year-old woman and her 16-year-old grandson after nine days trapped in debris has raised hopes in the disaster zone that more survivors may be found.
Officials said the two, Sumi Abe and her grandson Jin Abe, survived by rationing the meager undamaged foodstuffs in a tsunami-wrecked house in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, and by encouraging one another to stay alive.
Both were conscious when rescuers found them, although Sumi appeared to be suffering from mild dehydration. Jin appeared to have minor frostbite in his feet.
Both were recovering at a hospital in Ishinomaki.
Speaking before reporters, Jin Abe's father Akira expressed gratitude to the rescue team's perseverance.
"I always trusted that they would be found alive. I am grateful that they were rescued. I believe that this will remind people of the importance of not giving up," he said.
An official at the internal affairs ministry's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said, "While we are not sure how long this will continue, as long as we are in the disaster area, rescue activities will continue."
According to police, the two were found in what used to be the second floor of the two-story house amidst debris that was strewn across an area about 1.5 kilometers south of JR Ishinomaki Station.
A police team patrolling the area on Sunday noticed a weak call for help from the house, which at first glance looked like a one-story home that had been crushed. When they looked up, they saw Jin sitting on the roof.
The boy, who was dressed in a track suit and had bath towels wrapped around his body, told police that his grandmother was trapped inside. He told police that he smashed a hole in the ceiling and climbed to the roof earlier that day.
A police officer who crawled through the debris found the grandmother lying on a toppled closet and wrapped in futon.
Police said she whispered "thank god" and started to cry when the police officer looked her in the eyes.
According to Jin's family, the boy, who lived with his father in Sendai, was visiting his grandmother during an exam break at his school, when the quake and tsunami hit.
The two were eating lunch in the second-floor kitchen when the tsunami flooded the house. Water reached the second floor. The cupboard toppled over, and the two found themselves stuck in a narrow space.
The day after the quake, Jin's brother managed to reach them by calling Sumi's cellphone and they spoke for about 50 seconds. Jin told his brother that he and his grandmother were fine.
The father requested police search the area where the grandmother's house was located, but could not find anything as the house had been carried dozens of meters away by the tsunami, officials said.
Meantime, they lost contact with Sumi's cellphone.
On the third day after the quake, Jin managed to find his way to the room next to the kitchen and pull out dry blankets and futon, with which the two wrapped themselves.
They retrieved the contents of the refrigerator. They subsided on yogurt, cola and water, along with bread, nori dried seaweed and frozen food, judging from empty wrappers that were scattered around their bedding.
According to Michio Kobayashi, a doctor who is treating the two at the Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital, the two are in good condition.
"The fact that they miraculously were able to eat food, keep warm with blankets and they could encourage one another was what allowed them to survive," Kobayashi said.
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