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Updated: 10:10 AM EST
Iran's Leader Vows to Rebuild Devastated City
Girl Found Alive in Quake Rubble; Death Toll May Reach 40,000
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, AP
BAM, Iran (Dec. 29) -- Rescuers found a 12-year-old Iranian girl alive in the rubble of her family's house Monday, even as some searchers called off their efforts saying there could be no more survivors after last week's devastating earthquake.
An Ancient City in Ruins
Iran's supreme leader visited the quake-shattered ancient city of Bam and pledged to rebuild it, shortly after two aftershocks early Monday caused some of the few remaining walls to tumble.
More than 25,000 bodies have been retrieved since Friday's 6.6-magnitude earthquake shook the city and surrounding region in southeast Iran, according to provincial government spokesman Asadollah Iranmanesh.
That number was an increase from 21,000 reported earlier, and there were fears the number of dead could rise as high as 40,000. At least 10,000 people are believed wounded.
''Many, many more people remain buried under the rubble,'' Iranmanesh said.
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In Bam, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed his condolences to hundreds of victims gathered in the street, vowing support and telling them he shared their grief for loved ones.
''All of us are responsible to meet the demands of the survivors,'' he said. ''Aid should continue to come so that, God willing, the city of Bam is rebuilt better and this time stronger than before. We can build a strong and developed city out of this devastation.''
President Mohammad Khatami was expected to arrive later in the day in the city, best known for having the world's largest medieval mud fortress. Most of the 2,000-year-old fortress crumbled when the quake hit.
Hopes of finding more survivors faded as sunrise Monday marked 72 hours since the quake hit, entombing thousands of sleeping residents in their homes. Experts say 72 hours is generally the longest people can live trapped in rubble.
Still, rescuers using an electronic search device found a girl in the rubble of a house soon after sunrise Monday, unconscious and with a broken leg, an Iranian relief worker said.
''The only reason she remained alive was because the roof had not totally collapsed,'' said Shokrollah Abbasi. ''There was air for her to breathe. We found her in the kitchen. There was a plate of rice near her, and it appeared to me that the food had helped her remain alive.''
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Time Running Out for Rescues
Aid Rushes to Help Iran
He said the girl, whose name he did not know, appeared to be about 12 years old. The body of a woman and a boy were found in the same house.
Rescue workers from around the world have joined Iranians in searching through powdery debris that left little room for the air pockets that could allow people to survive while awaiting help.
The traditional sun-dried, mud-brick construction of houses doomed many occupants, as it has for centuries in quake-prone Iran. Heavy roofs, often sealed with cement or plaster to keep out rain, sit atop mud-brick walls that have no support beams. When walls crumble, roofs smash down, crushing or suffocating anyone inside.
Germany's THW government aid agency called off its search, saying there were no longer any signals such as knocking sounds and no more indications from local people of possible survivors, spokesman Nicolas Hefner said Monday. The team had not found any survivors and was returning to Germany.
But Eric Soupra, spokesman for the French rescuers, said the search must continue despite the fading chances of finding anyone alive.
''There have been miracles in earthquakes before, in other cities, in other countries, and so we must continue searching,'' he told France's RTL radio.
The Italian team also planned to continue searching all day.
''Even if the lengthy amount of time that has passed since the quake doesn't inspire optimism, we still haven't definitively abandoned hope of finding survivors,'' said Agostino Miozzo, head of the Italian civil protection corps and coordinator of the European aid response team in Bam.
Twenty people were pulled alive from the rubble Sunday, the government spokesman said. A day earlier, officials reported freeing 150 survivors.
More on This Story
· Disaster May Open Door for U.S., Iran
· Major Earthquakes in Iran
· Recent Major Earthquakes Around the World
Ted Pearn, coordinator of U.N. relief operations in Bam, said 1,400 international relief workers were in Bam, part of 35 teams from 26 countries.
Planes from dozens of countries have landed in the provincial capital of Kerman with relief supplies, volunteers and dogs trained to find bodies and survivors. U.S. military C-130 cargo planes were among them, despite Washington's long-severed diplomatic relations with Tehran and President Bush's characterization of Iran as part of an ''axis of evil'' with Iraq and North Korea.
In Bam on Sunday, traffic clogged the roads leading in and out of the city, 630 miles southeast of the Iranian capital. Survivors with any kind of vehicle loaded furniture and whatever they could salvage and headed for other cities. Incoming traffic brought relief supplies, volunteers and relatives desperate for news of their kin.
By Saturday night, enough tents had arrived to accommodate the thousands of homeless. Looters grabbing food from warehouses and grocery shops, as police tried to control them by shooting in the air.
12-29-03 09:44 EST
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