Time is Urgent for Those Trapped Dehydration and the escalating effects of injuries and fractures are the greatest threats to the lives of earthquake victims still trapped in collapsed buildings in Turkey, experts say. Access to fluids, the degree of confinement, temperatures and speed of rescue are critical to survival, according to emergency room physicians and professional rescuers. Age can shorten that time. Crush injuries, fractures and pressure on the respiratory system worsen things. Damaged muscle tissue releases toxins that damage the kidneys, sometimes permanently for those who survive.
Open fractures cause infection, which can kill if untreated.
Dr. Paul Silka, associate medical director of emergency medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said people entrapped with injuries for as little as one hour can experience renal failure. Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Michael Saenz, who heads an urban search and rescue task force, said victims are generally considered to have a 72-hour window for rescue. We never give up hope. In 1990, Pedrito Dy was rescued after 14 days in the basement of a quake-devastated Hyatt Hotel in the Philippines resort of Baguio.