A seven-year-old Indonesian girl, whom rescuers were looking for after the earthquake that killed at least 272 people in Indonesia, was found dead on Friday (November 25th) in ruins, relief workers told AFP.
The lifeless body of Ashika Nur Fauziah, also known as Cika, was extracted from a collapsed house in Cianjur district, close to the epicenter of the 5.6 magnitude earthquake that struck western India. island of Java on Monday. “The body was immediately handed over to the family. The family accepted him and he was buriedsaid Jeksen Kolibu, a 28-year-old rescuer. “The family was devastated… The mother was among those to whom the body was brought“, he added.
Research in the debris
Several dozen rescuers had tried Thursday to clear with shovels, hammers and bare hands, the debris of the house where the family thought the little girl was at the time of the earthquake. The research suspended overnight had resumed Friday morning. The little girl was found on Friday surrounded by debris, under three layers of concrete, with very little room to breathe.
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Rescuers covered his face and placed his body in a body bag, in front of his father, Ahmad Ashikin. She was buried in a nearby cemetery less than an hour later. The day before, her mother, Imas Masfahitah, 34, was still hoping her daughter could be found. “She was playing outside, I was preparing the meal in the kitchen when the earthquake happened. Very quickly, in two seconds my house collapsed“, she told AFP.
Forty victims wanted
The discovery on Wednesday evening of a 6-year-old boy, Azka, who survived the earthquake under the rubble for two days, had revived hopes of finding survivors. About forty victims are still being sought since the earthquake which left at least 272 dead, including a large number of children, and more than 2,000 injured.
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Located on the “belt of fire» of the Pacific where the tectonic plates meet, Indonesia is regularly confronted with earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.