In the United States, a woman’s leg was amputated after a building fell into rubble during a collapse. attribution: New York Post.
Quanisha and Lexus Berry, residents of Iowa, lived on the fourth floor of a century-old apartment building when they observed a crack appear above the bathroom doorway. Sensing danger, they hurried to grab their beloved pet and rush outside, but the ground betrayed them and time ran out in an instant.
“It happened in the blink of an eye,” Lexus recalls. “The floors gave way as if they were folding under us.”
Lexus managed to crawl free from beneath the debris, yet Quanisha became pinned by a mound of bricks and reinforcing bars. After hours of careful searching, rescuers finally located her and faced a decision driven by the severity of the injuries and the conditions inside the ruined structure.
With the clock ticking and the risk of further harm rising, doctors determined that amputation would be necessary to save her life and to enable extraction from the wreckage. The procedure took place under local anesthesia, seven hours after the collapse, before she was transported to a hospital for ongoing care. The surgeon explained that the action was dictated by the surrounding hazards and the need to stabilize her condition in the confined, unstable space of the damaged building.
Lexus reflected on the grim reality of the rescue, noting that the team was faced with a profoundly difficult choice born out of extreme circumstances. The couple’s home is described as a structure over 100 years old, which had undergone repairs but remained standing rather than being demolished in the aftermath of the disaster.
In another heartbreaking report from the region, rescuers combed through rubble following an earthquake in Turkey, where a substantial amount of money was reportedly discovered beneath debris, illustrating the unpredictable nature of disaster zones and the surprising discoveries that can accompany recovery efforts. attribution: News agencies and local authorities.