Rescue workers were anxious to learn whether underground sounds had come from survivors or shifting earth and water.

Under the glare of generator-powered lights, a multinational group of troops and technicians worked into the night with shovels, rescue dogs and high-tech gear, including sound- and heat-detection equipment.

There was no sign of survivors under the muck four days after a mountainside collapsed and covered the farming village of Guinsaugon on the Philippine island of Leyte. No one had been pulled out alive since just a few hours after the disaster, and an estimated 1,000 people are feared dead.

But South Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias was optimistic when U.S. and Malaysian forces picked up sounds of scratching and a rhythmic tapping Feb. 20.

"That's more than enough reason to smile and be happy," Lerias said. "The adrenaline is high . . . now that we have seen increasing signs of life."

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 25, 2006
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