Editor's note:

Search and rescue efforts entered their fifth day in the earthquake-hit areas of Nepal after a 7.8-magnitude quake on Saturday killed more than 5,000 people. The Global Times reporters in Kathmandu have witnessed the rescue efforts and the strength of the Nepalese people in the face of tragedy.

Global Times reporter: Bai Tiantian

 

An old Nepalese man on Tuesday grabbed my hand and asked me, with tears welling up in his eyes, if I could get the Chinese rescue team to search his collapsed house just one more time.

"Please. Please. I have family members in there. Four of them. Please," he begged.

The house had already been searched twice, once by the Indian rescue team and once by the Chinese. 

The smell emanating from the bodies pinned beneath the rubble of his house was so strong that it filled one's nostrils 20 meters away from the debris. 

The man refused to believe that he had lost his loved ones and kept begging. His neighbors, whose homes had survived the tremors that rocked the mountainous nation, begged by his side. 

I didn't know what to do. 

I was dispatched to Kathmandu on Sunday by the Global Times to cover the quake and have been following the search efforts of the Chinese International Search and Rescue (CISAR) team for the past two days. Since most of the Chinese rescuers do not speak English, I served from time to time as the team's translator. 

The five-storey building was located in what had been a rather nice neighborhood by the side of the Vishnumati River, a river so holy to local people that they named it after a Hindu god. But now the river has become a symbol of sorrow as the areas worst hit by the earthquake in Kathmandu are almost all located alongside the river.

I tried to explain to the old man what the rescuers had told me. It was one of the most difficult conversations I have ever had, trying to explain to someone that his brother, two sons and a daughter-in-law were beyond help. The rescuers had located the bodies, with the help of their trained dogs, under a pile of masonry that was once the family's kitchen. The bodies were buried underneath the home and could not be seen. But judging by their location and the smell, the team had decided that the chances of find any survivors was slim. The team had made the decision to move on to the next house, where they might be able to find people that may still have a chance to live. 

The man went silent for a moment. He had told the team previously that all four of his relatives were in the kitchen when the earthquake struck. At that moment it had been almost 72 hours since the quake took place, a critical time to look for survivors.

In desperation, he turned away from me and went directly to the deputy head of CISAR and asked: "I know the odor means there are dead bodies. But one or two of them may have run to a different part of the house to hide. That means some of them could still be alive, right?"

Qu Guosheng, the leader and the only team member who can speak English, explained to the man the procedures taken by the team and how they came to their  conclusion. He explained to him, in plain words, the cruel truth that it was impossible for anyone to run at all when a building is collapsing around them during an earthquake. "It's like the entire floor is spinning under your feet."

The old man listened and managed to hold his emotions inside. He shook hands with both Qu and me and thanked us for what we had done. 

This is the first time I have reported on a major natural disaster and I have seen more death in the past two days than I have in my entire life before this. 

While reporting with CISAR, I have seen husbands losing wives and children losing parents. 

Yet nearly all the Nepalese people that the team have helped politely expressed their gratitude even as they suffered the greatest losses imaginable. This country and its people are facing this catastrophe with enormous strength and grace.


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