Miracles

Rescuers salvaged a Tibetan woman in her eighties from the rubble near central plaza of Gyegu at 4:00 PM Friday, 57 hours after the quake.

Her legs were broken but were recovering well after medical treatment, according to the hospital's rescuers.

A 13-year-old girl was pulled alive out of ruins also on Friday, prompting rescuers to congratulate each other in delight.

However, the excitement after the six-hour dig was short-lived as they suppressed their fatigue and the nausea of altitude sickness to return to work.

"The first 72 hours offers the best chance of survival after such a calamity strikes," said Xi Mei, a medical attendant with the China International Rescue Medical Team.

But time is running out.

Fu Yong, head of a group of rescuers from Lanzhou, Gansu Province, said they had pulled out six bodies, but no survivors.

"The possibility of survival is getting slim, but we are still looking for miracles," he said.

Wang Qinlin, head of a group of police rescuers, said his men, armed with life detectors, had spread out to remote villages, small alleys in and around Gyegu to find survivors.

"We are fighting the clock and we will not give up on the smallest chance," he said. "Once a sign of life is detected, we call in the back-up team and start digging."