NSW: Sydney firefighter says rescuers are praying on miracle

AAP General News (Australia)
08-23-1999
NSW: Sydney firefighter says rescuers are praying on miracle

A Sydney firefighter, who joined the rescue effort in Turkey, says emergency workers there
are praying for a miracle to uncover more survivors from last week's devastating earthquake.

WARWICK KIDD, who was part of the rescue team that freed Thredbo landslide survivor STUART
DIVER, says another survivor has been retrieved from the rubble today -- more than 100 hours
after the initial quake hit.

But, he's told Sky News Australia, the search effort soon moved from finding survivors to
retrieving bodies.

The official death toll from Tuesday's quake has surpassed 12,000 people, and some
officials predict as many as 40,000 could be dead.

Mr KIDD, who is in Izmit - the industrial town hit hardest by the quake - says a lot of
heavy machinery, including bulldozers have been moved in to begin clearing the rubble.

He says despite the devastation the spread of disease had not yet posed a problem.

AAP RTV nd/jo/jms/jn

KEYWORD: QUAKE TURKEY AUST (SYDNEY)

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