Four Rescued After 10-day Ordeal

Four people were rescued in the Philippines yesterday from a building that collapsed and was buried in mud 10 days ago when two devastating storms struck the country's north-east.

The discovery in Real, 40 miles east of the capital Manila, came as the authorities raised the casualty toll from the storms and floods to 939 dead and 837 missing.

Maria Tamares, 49, said she, her three-year-old granddaughter and two 14-year-old boys survived by drinking "any kind of liquid that dripped" into the underground room where they were trapped.

"We felt like we were entombed between heaven and earth," she said. "There was nothing but darkness. I thought our time had come."

She added: "It was God who saved us. I could not explain where we got our strength and lasted for days without food."

Ms Tamares said a male relative died next to her on the third day from dehydration.

Ian Carl Bungat, one of the boys, told local television: "I heard the digging and then I saw the light. I thanked the Lord. God heard our prayers."

Ms Tamares said she heard the banging above their heads early yesterday and told the others to start shouting. Several hours later a team of 40 volunteer miners and troops reached them.

"We never expected any survivors from the ruins," army officer Gerry Sultana said on local radio. "After three days of digging, we had only found decomposing bodies."

The four were among a group of 100 born again Christians who were in the building's basement when it crumpled under the weight of water, trees and mud that swept through the town on November 29. Only four people were able to clamber out at the time.

Some of the rescuers reportedly heard more voices from the rubble of the building but by last night no one else had been found alive.

The survivors were taken to a military hospital in nearby Lucena city.

President Gloria Arroyo flew to Lucena to greet and comfort the four. She described their survival as a miracle.

Relief workers are struggling to get aid to the approximately 650,000 people who lost their homes in the devastation. The national disaster agency said yesterday that a further 2.5 million people had been affected by the tragedy.

Officials have valued the losses at about £43m. They estimate it will take at least a fortnight to restore power to the region and much longer to repair other infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

There is mounting concern that unless sanitation and medical services are quickly restored, disease could become rampant.

Manila has blamed illegal loggers for greatly exacerbating the scale of the disaster. Ms Arroyo imposed a nationwide logging ban at the weekend.