It is possible to resist and survive under the rubble “even for 8-10 days”, but four indispensable conditions must be met. This was underlined to ANSA by the president of the Italian Society System 118 (Sis 118), Mario Balzanelli, after several people in Turkey were pulled alive from the debris 4 days after the earthquake that struck the country.
“The possibility that a subject who is submerged in rubble and debris after a collapse has to survive, despite the extreme conditions in which he finds himself, depends on various factors, the most important of which – explains the president of SIS 118 – are four” . The first condition for survival, he says, “is the presence of air spaces, that is, the fact of being stuck in a space which, albeit under the rubble, is represented by a cave which allows the presence of air and which, consequently, makes it possible for the person to continue breathing. A cavity, however small, can in fact allow the permanence of air, which is essential so that the subject does not suffocate”. The second condition necessary for survival is the “maintenance of patency of the airways, this means that there must be no debris and rubble in the nose and mouth which constitute a mechanical obstacle to breathing”. The third condition is that “there must be no major lesions affecting the brain or other vital organs” e the fourth is that “there must be no internal bleedingunfortunately frequent following the multiple traumas that a person can suffer in these situations”. If all these conditions are present, Balzanelli points out, “a person can survive under the rubble for even 8-10 days”.
Furthermore, warns the expert, “the chances of survival, in the presence of the 4 conditions indicated, increase significantly if it is possible to maintain communication with the person still under the rubble, keeping them constantly awake, and if it is possible to hydrate them in some way , for example with the preparation of pipes to convey water or liquid nutrients”.
Surviving even after several days of a disastrous event such as the earthquake of February 6 in Turkey and Syria is, therefore, possible. However, Balzanelli underlines, “the psycho-physical recovery of a person who has survived such an experience can be extremely difficult. Much obviously depends on the physical conditions, but in all cases a condition of post-traumatic stress disorder persists which can prove to be serious in a high percentage of subjects, especially – concludes the doctor – when the loss of material goods is accompanied by the loss of loved ones or the shock of having witnessed the death of other close people”.
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