Trapped victims can survive a week or more, experts say
Two days after a powerful deadly earthquake struck western Colombia, rescue teams are racing against the clock to search for survivors, according to the Associated Press. Experts say most rescues happen in the 24 hours after a disaster, and the chances of survival drop with each day that follows.
For people trapped in rubble, survival depends on many factors, experts say, including weather and access to water and air. Victims whose injuries are not too severe can survive for a week or more, assuming the weather is not too hot or cold.
Experts say most victims are badly injured or buried by falling stones or other debris. The chances of survival, they say, drop with each day after the first 24 hours.
Rescues have also occurred long after that window. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, a teenager and his 80-year-old grandmother were found alive after nine days trapped in their flattened home.
A year before, a 16-year-old Haitian girl was rescued from earthquake rubble in Port-au-Prince after 15 days.
In western Colombia, rescue teams continue the search, working against the declining survival odds that experts describe.