Search work among the remains of the apartment building that collapsed in Surfside, north of Miami Beach, continues days after the accident, as families wait for their loved ones to be among the survivors.
Finding yourself trapped under piles of rubble
, with little or zero mobility, without water, food and perhaps little oxygen, with the uncertainty if you can be rescued,
is undoubtedly an extremely traumatic event and difficult to deal with.
Here's what experts recommend you do if you find yourself in a similar situation.
If you find yourself in
a building collapse
, try to:
Cover your head in the
fetal position
.
If you can move, find a
space
to lie down and lie on your back.
Find space, without putting your physical safety at risk, little by little to have
mobility
of feet and hands.
Try to stay calm and not give in to heartbreak and anxiety, as this could make the difference between life and death.
"I was hearing 'help, I can't breathe.'
What this man heard under the rubble at Surfside
June 28, 202102: 02
This last point is vital, since Dr.
Jaime Salas
told "Hoy Día" that the
determination to survive
is fundamental in this type of situation.
"I was in Haiti in the 2010 earthquake. They brought us people who had been trapped for a week, a week and a half, and
what they had in common was that they were determined to make it out alive," he
said.
After many days under the rubble, the chances of staying alive are progressively decreasing.
But, specialists say that you can
survive without water for up to five days and without food for up to 40.
However, in similar long-term tragedies there have been some cases of successful rescues, up to
36 days
after the disaster occurred.
Telemundo
This is what happened to
Lucía Zamora
, a survivor of the earthquake that shook Mexico City in 2017, who, following the collapse of Surfside, recalled her case and told 'Hoy Día' how she managed to survive.
According to her testimony, she immediately had to decide between life and death and not let panic consume her.
Keeping calm and controlling your mind
is what saved your life.
"There came a time when the decision was,
do you want to live or do you want to die?
My first reaction was to think how I was physically," he said.
"One of the things I tried to do was have a lot of
intelligence
in managing all my resources.
I had to train my mind to be in a calm state," he added.
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