Feature: Ecuador riveted by tales of quake survivors

Five days after a powerful earthquake tumbled buildings up and down the Ecuadorian coast, dramatic tales of survivors rescued from the debris have been spreading in this nation.

The 7.8-magnitude quake that rumbled through six coastal provinces late Saturday caused the worst national catastrophe in 67 years, according to the government, killing at least 587 people and injuring more than 5,000 in this nation of 16 million.

Ecuadorians have been closely following the search and rescue efforts, which have so far saved 113 people trapped under the twisted metal and cracked concrete of collapsed homes and buildings.

One survivor, Pablo Cordova, a resident of Portoviejo in the coastal province of Manabi, told Quito's local newspaper Ultimas Noticias that his family had lost all hope of finding him alive and ordered his coffin.

"My wife had already spoken with my boss to get a coffin, because they thought they were going to get me out in a decomposed state, (and) straight to the cemetery," said Cordova, manager at the local Hotel El Gato, which collapsed from the quake.

Cordova was on the hotel's second-floor lobby when the quake occurred, knocking down the walls around him.

To survive, he pretended to sleep and eat. "I had gum in my mouth and I thought it was something delicious. I drank water: When I urinated I wet my lips a little. I took off my shirt, because the heat made me sweat and I didn't want to become dehydrated... I tried to control my mind," he said.

Describing his experience as "unforgettable," "supernatural" and "divine," Cordova said he was saved by the furniture in the reception area which protected him from the falling debris.

Though he had passed out for about 45 minutes, he was not badly injured when he came to.

With a lantern he found right by his feet which was kept in case of a blackout, he located his Nokia cellphone. At first it had no signal, but a day and a half later, on Monday, the signal came back at 1 p.m. and he was able to call a friend in a neighboring town.

"'It's me, tell my family that I'm alive at the Hotel El Gato,' I told her," said Cordova.

A rescue team from Bogota dug a tunnel to get Cordova out, and the family donated the coffin to a man who had died in another town, Pedernales.

"I definitely believe in miracles," said Cordova.

International rescue teams, together with local ones, are still racing against time to save lives.

A rescue team organized by China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. arrived in the affected city some 30 kilometers from the Pacific coast in 10 hours after the disaster occurred, bringing 17 vehicles for excavation.

On Sunday afternoon, they saved a 27-year-old woman out of the basement of a four-floor house on Alhajuela street and later one on Malawi street. Both are now out of danger after timely treatment.

Besides, CAMC also dispatched a dozen trucks loaded with water, candles, biscuits, canned food and other relief supplies to the affected cities of Guayaquil and Quito.

In Canoa, a beachside district in the Manabi town of San Vicente, a survivor's story was widely reported. Mariana Baque de Velasquez, 64, survived after being trapped for 24 hours under the rubble of an evangelical church which was 90 percent damaged.

However, her family -- her husband, two children, a son-in-law and a grandson, who was with her at church -- were killed.

Distraught and having sustained a shoulder injury, she told a local television station how she screamed desperately for help until she heard the sound of rescuers.

"Someone was yelling (above) and I said: 'Get me out, get me out of here, I'm alive.' Then he broke through and shone a flashlight on me and saw that I was alive. 'I'm Mariana,' I told him, 'open up quick and get me out of here,'" she recounted, sobbing.

"I was all dried up, dying of thirst, they gave me water and I came back to life," she added.

The tragedy occurred the night before her family planned to surprise her on her birthday the next day, according to Ana Moreira, a close friend.

Her lost family had prepared a surprise birthday celebration, said Moreira, adding "imagine what a surprise this misfortune causes."

Experts say people can survive up to a week under rubble if they have not suffered any serious injuries, Ecuadorian daily El Universo said. After that, victims are likely to pass out from lack of water and food, and would be unable to cry out to potential rescuers outside. Endi