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How long can people survive in the rubble of an earthquake?

"Typically, it is rare to find survivors after the fifth to seventh days, and most search and rescue teams will consider stopping by then,'' said Dr. Jarone Lee, an emergency and disaster medicine expert at Massachusetts General Hospital. "But, there are many stories of people surviving well past the seven-day mark. Unfortunately, these are usually rare and extraordinary cases.''

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"You see a lot of different scenarios where we've had some really miraculous saves and people have survived under horrible conditions.," said Dr. Christopher Colwell, an emergency medicine specialists at the University of California, San Francisco. "They tend to be younger people and have been fortunate enough to find either a pocket in the rubble or some way to access needed elements like air and water.''