Earthquake in China: Out of the Darkness

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0:57It is Monday, May the 12th, 2008. Around 2.30 in the afternoon. In the mountains of the Sichuan province of China, about an hour and a half's drive from the city of Chengdu, the sky is threatening rain. Dark clouds build to a smudgy, low canopy. The atmosphere is thick and heavy. A storm is brewing. the gathering gloom, a rural village stands amongst the vastness of nature. On any normal day, this small settlement in Wanchuan County has a steady, peaceful rhythm. The ambient rush of its central river underscores the songs of a thousand tropical birds, from the core core of the golden pheasant to the intricate trilling of the Chinese ruby throat.

1:49Over this calming orchestra, the sounds of village life serve as grace notes, mere additions to the glorious wilderness. It's a place surrounded on all sides by emerald mountains, nestled in plant life, at ease with itself. Today however, the scene could not be more different, and not just because of the ominous clouds overhead. The village lies in ruins. Roads ripped open, power lines twisted and torn, the earth itself ruptured under buildings reduced to rubble. And underneath that rubble, lying trapped, crushed under a mountain of concrete brick and splintered wood, is 27-year-old Mayan Sibarg.

2:33When I woke up, I was in a very dark place because all of the roof fell on us, and I was buried under the wreckage and I was not sure if I'm dreaming. It's impossible to say how long she's been buried. Minutes, hours. Whatever the case, Mayan's situation is the stuff of nightmares. Crushed and suffocating, her head is pounding. She's being squeezed by the detritus, blackness and pain gripping her on all sides. She tries desperately to attract the attention of anyone who might be able to help. She goes to call out, but horrifyingly, her mouth isn't making any sound. My voice was mute, so I pulled my hand and I wanted to understand what is going on and then I couldn't understand what I'm feeling.

3:27It's not my face. You know your face. You close your eyes, you touch your face, you know how to feel your face, and it was not my face. It was something else. And I realized I don't have a mouth anymore. My mouth was not there.

3:51Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice? Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives. In this episode, we meet Mayan Sabak. In 2008, the 27-year-old is studying traditional Chinese medicine in Chengdu when her friend suggests they get out of the city to take in some nature. Mayan readily agrees. She wants to make the most of the time she has left in China. Only three more days before she heads home.

4:32The flight's booked. We have tickets already, you know, I have the tickets in my hand. And who would know that I will never use those tickets? Mayan will not board the flight. Because she and her friend Anat are about to walk into the epicenter of a terrible natural disaster. A magnitude 8 earthquake that will go down as one of the deadliest in human history. And I could hear the thoughts like crystal clear. I heard the voices say, you will never get out of here. You're going to die in this grave, buried. Even as she fights to free herself from this living tomb, Mayan's journey will not end there.

5:15Above her, on the surface, the situation is worse than she could ever imagine. Escaping burial is just the beginning. I'm John Hopkins from the Noiser Podcast Network. This is Real Survival Stories.

5:54It's lunchtime, May the 12th, 2008. My aunt Sabag and her friend Anat have just arrived at a picturesque restaurant overlooking a river that winds through lush green mountains. A waiter greets them and shows them to their table. They want to order quickly, their stomachs are rumbling. The bus ride to this village, in the foothills of Wanchuan County's mountainous nature reserve, took longer than expected, and they haven't eaten today. Their table has spectacular views But they only have eyes for the menu They place their order and sit back in pleasant expectation Taking in the hum of the river And the chattering animal calls drifting in from the forest This traditional fish restaurant comes highly recommended But they haven't travelled to this region for the food They have bigger fish to fry, so to speak And we said, okay, we are in China and we never go out from the city to see the countryside.

6:56And my friend Anat, she got the idea that we will go to see the panda resort. And I loved it. I love pandas. The journey here from the city of Chengdu was eventful, to say the least. First, their driver fell ill. Then the bus got a flat tire. What should have been an hour and a half's journey ended up taking four. On the way, Mayan told Anat this was giving her a bad feeling. That drive took us so long. I felt like something trying to stop me. Something is telling me don't go there. And that was more sanguine. You take the rough with the smooth when traveling, especially in rural areas. It was just a bump in the road.

7:40We decided to ignore it. And sometimes I'm thinking, what if I wouldn't ignore that moment, you know, those signs, like universe signs, the universe sending me signs. And we got there. And even when we went out of the bus, we felt this weird energy in the air. The pair decided on a change of plan. They're not going to stay the night. Instead, they'll go straight to the Panda Reserve from the restaurant and then head home. Now, sitting across from each other, with mouth-watering smells floating in from the kitchen, the two women try to relax. Anette kicks off her shoes. But something still feels off.

8:24The birds were screaming, the birds, you know, like, and it was very grey, like a storm coming. Mayan looks around at her fellow diners The busy waiters, the steaming plates of food No one else seems worried But Mayan has always been uncommonly attuned to her surroundings Her intuition, curiosity and affinity with nature Are what attracted her to China's ancient healing practices in the first place That and a refusal to take her problems lying down Plagued with a myriad of medical issues from a young age, she was forced to explore a variety of avenues I had a lot of health challenges and I found that the Chinese medicine helped me more than the regular conventional medicine And I wanted to go and study it Mayan trained for four years at home in Israel before flying to China to complete her studies An open-minded explorer, as comfortable discussing spirituality as she was botany or biology, the holistic nature of traditional Chinese medicine suited her down to the ground.

9:36I'm a person that likes to research and to like to understand the truth and to see the deeper layers of reality, of life, of consciousness. I was 27 years old going to China and I was a very adventurous person. I was also being in India and I visit Seychelles Islands and Europe. I'm a traveler, you know, I'm an adventure person that likes to travel, likes to see sites, likes to see other places, to open my mind to other cultures. While there's disagreement in the wider medical community about the effectiveness of many traditional Chinese practices, acupuncture is one technique that has become part of mainstream treatments for pain relief.

10:24As such, Mayan plans to open her own acupuncture clinic one day. With her positivity and drive, few would bet against her. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the mind, body, and spirit are interconnected and require careful calibration to maintain good health. It's all about balance. And at 27 years old, Mayan appears to have found this balance. Having gone some way to healing herself, she is now looking to the future and how to provide for others. We need to help each other. I see the world as a big school of consciousness and emotions, so I feel like I'm here to help.

11:14Back in the restaurant, Mayan's phone rings. She answers and stands, searching for a quieter spot. It's another friend asking where she and Anat are. Mayan explains and invites the friend down to join them. Despite the gloomy weather, this is still shaping up to be an enjoyable day in a beautiful pocket of the world. Mayan hangs up and starts making her way back to the table to tell Anat the news. But as she approaches, something stops her in her tracks. I hung up and I was about to sit in my chair And I saw Anast's eyes like open Very horrific, you know She stared at me and I felt the ground shaking And in the beginning I didn't really understand What am I feeling like?

12:03What is it? And then I realized it's an earthquake It's unmistakable The violent tremors the furniture bouncing and toppling over. This can only be one thing. Suddenly people are running in all directions, streaming out of the restaurant as quickly as they can. But it isn't easy. Me and Anath, it took us few seconds that were crucial, I know now. I needed to pull her up in order that we will run out of the restaurant and we couldn't do it. The earthquake was so, so strong. Everything was dancing, everything was moving.

12:46The earth beneath their feet kicks and bucks like an enraged animal try to shake them off. Anat can't stand up and Mayan, barely able to balance herself, is finding it impossible to help her. She just can't pull her friend up from her chair and it's costing them vital seconds. Eyes darting Mayan looks over to the doorway It's not far, she could make it But she'd have to leave Annette I was close to the exit And I saw The stairs like moving Away from me Like breaking in front of my eyes And I had This moment That I need to choose I need to choose between Staying with Annette Or jumping out and I chose to stay with the nut.

13:38Mayan turns her head from the exit and back towards her friend still struggling to stand when something hard and heavy slams into her from above. The roof of this restaurant just fell on me and my head crashed on the floor and I was buried.

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15:47A Second Chance at First Love. Every Year After, streaming June 10th, only on Prime. It's early afternoon on Monday, May the 12th, 2008 In the mountains of Sichuan Province, China In a small, rural village 27-year-old Mayan Sibag lies buried beneath the ruins of a restaurant An unmoving body amid a black sea of crumbled brick and splintered wood Slowly, she opens her eyes I woke up and my head was pounding And I didn't understand I'm sleeping, I'm in China, where am I? I didn't know if it's morning, if it's night I was in a very dark place And then I started to remember what happened As she slowly regains lucidity Mayan tries to ascertain what sort of state she's in With a trembling hand she slowly feels her way up her body, checking for injury.

16:50She gets to her neck and stops. It feels strange, misshapen and wet. Her fingers trace the outline of her face. That, too, is disturbingly unfamiliar. My mouth was not there. My tongue and my teeth, they were out from the skin. It was not connected to my face anymore, so I couldn't move my tongue, I couldn't create sound, and I couldn't talk, and I could hardly swallow my spit. She cannot speak. She can barely swallow. The blood drips.

17:33People will be searching for survivors, but without any way of making noise, how will they know where to look? Entombed in building material and dust, battling rising panic, Mayan suddenly hears a familiar voice up above ground. I heard Anat shouting, help me, help me, please. And I think after a few minutes or a few hours, again, I don't know, they pulled her out of the wreckage and she told him, my friend is somewhere here. Mayan listens as the rescuers above move in her direction, spurred on by Anat's instructions. A few horrific minutes pass, as she lies, constricted by sharp and painful debris, unable to cry out in the dark.

18:21Then suddenly, there is a light. High above Mayan, daylight tunnels its way towards her in tiny shafts, as more chunks of restaurant are removed. But there is a lot of rubble to shift over a wide area, and time is of the essence. Anat is calling her name, imploring her to shout out, to make some noise to let them know where to dig. Mayan tries again, but still not a single sound emerges from her badly swollen throat. What if they give up, assume she's dead and move on to saving someone else? They're right on top of her now. This is her one chance. She might not get another. Mayan begins to dig.

19:08In jerky, agonizing movements, she works to free herself. And slowly, carefully, she pulls herself upwards towards the light. And it was painful. It was really painful. I felt pain in all of my body because I squeezed myself in pathways that I couldn't really fit, you know. I had all of my body scratches and my hands was full of blood. Enduring, searing pain with every movement, Mayan continues to climb. Batteries drained, limbs weak. It gets to a point where she can go no further. And then a hand touches hers and she's pulled, bloodied and mudstained from the rubble. Squinting, her eyes take time to adjust to the light.

20:01When they finally do, they widen in disbelief. It was a different world. Everything was ruined. Everything, nothing was standing. All of the houses, the restaurants, the grocery stores, the Barbara shop, everything was ruined. And part of me said, no, it can't be real. I'm dreaming, I'm having this very vivid nightmare. It can't be real. It's not my life. I don't want it to be my life. Survivors hurl rubble from piles of shattered buildings as quickly as they can, desperate to recover others from the wreckage. They shout into the debris. They bark orders. There is crying and wailing and screams of pain.

20:50And amid the cacophony, one particular piercing shriek jolts Mayan out of her stupor. It's Anat She whirls around, searching the teeming crowds for her friend And then she spots her Standing stock still, all alone in a maelstrom of bodies Staring in disbelief at her hand Anat was shouting like crazy And I realized she had her fingers cut off She didn't have her fingers And it was so much pain Blood pours down her arm and trickles from her elbow onto the floor Mayan hobbles over to her friend As Anat looks up at her for the first time Her expression shifts She stops wailing and seems to momentarily forget about the pain in her hand And she saw me and she was, Mayan, what happened to you?

21:50And she was like a mirror to me and I realized I look so bad that everyone is looking at me, the local people, they were like staring at me, that I look like a monster.

22:03One of her rescuers offers her a dusty bundle pulled from the carnage. It's her backpack. Mayan rummages in her bag and pulls out a shirt. She'd packed it to wear the next day, but now she wraps it around her limp and dangling chin and ties it in a knot on top of her head. The makeshift sling absorbs some of the blood Though it doesn't stop its flow It holds her dislocated jaw in place And at the very least Makes her appearance a little less shocking She rummages in her bag once more And this time pulls out her notebook I realized that the notebook, writing That is going to be my mouth now This is the way I'm going to communicate And I wrote and asked Let's get the hell out of here Mayan scribbles her plan down in the book and turns it to show Anat We were so naive, we said like, let's go to the bus station, let's get the bus back The two women haul themselves to their feet The torn strips of clothing used to bandage their injuries already soaked red They begin to trudge back towards the centre of the village Having taken her shoes off in the restaurant, Anat is barefoot And the floor is covered in razor-sharp detritus She treads carefully to avoid lacerating the soles of her feet The going is no easier for Mayan Each movement of her body is almost unbearable In the village, any hope that the landscape might improve along the way is extinguished Ruination is complete When they reach the bus station, it's no longer there And the road out of the village, the one they'd come in on, is not an option The road was blocked from trees, from buildings.

23:50We really didn't know what to do, where to go. And the local people told us just like wait here, like sit and wait. But I was so weak, I was bleeding to death. Mayan takes the opportunity to empty her bag, keeping only strict essentials. The two women check their mobile phones. No signal. They approach a group of locals to ask if they have reception. But as they do, Mayan staggers, then stops, swaying on the spot. Anat turns just in time to see her friend buckle and fall.

24:29Moments later, Mayan comes round. Anat is shouting at her to stay awake. If Mayan goes under, she may not come back. She never did get her food at the restaurant. She hasn't eaten since yesterday. She hasn't had water in hours. And she's still hemorrhaging. They need to stop the bleeding. I'd not ask for a local person to help me with the bleeding. Like, give me something for the bleeding. So he gave us leaves to put in my mouth, like local leaves. Her medicinal training tells Mayan that the minty herb the man offers is, at best, an antiseptic. It won't stem the flow. But as the leaf tingles in her mouth, another solution presents itself.

25:15A remedy Mayan once read about but has never seen in practice. One that is unconventional, to say the least. I remember that moment that we just learned in the Chinese traditional that if you burn human hair, you can stop bleeding. And I said, okay, this is a perfect moment to try it, you know. Where else could I try this stuff? And I have nothing to lose. Mayan scribbles in her notebook her suggestion And shows it to Anat Who is skeptical in response But Mayan's expression is determined Why not give it a go? Anat mentions a barbershop she spotted through the window of the bus It isn't far With a renewed sense of purpose she rushes off Instructing Mayan to stay put until she gets back Unbelievably It isn't long before Anat returns holding a large pair of scissors And a lighter Mayan's hair is too short so they use anats which is thick and curly.

26:16They burn locks of her hair until they have a small fresh pile of ash which Mayan applies to the open wound in her mouth. It stopped the bleeding, not completely of course because I had these open injuries but it made it less streamy you know and it was good and I said it's working, I feel better. With a mouthful of blood and ash, Mayan persuades Anat via her notebook that they should keep moving. Anat suggests they leave the road, which is blocked and twisted, impassable for vehicles and heavy going on foot, and instead head into the forest, following the path of the river. They step away from the devastated village and into the thick green of the trees.

27:05The decision appears to be a good one. Walking is easier on the leafy forest floor, particularly for Anat's bare feet. They reach the riverbank and see the water level has gone down to a tiny trickle. It's a strange sight, but it has its advantages. There was no water in the river. It was empty. And people were walking, like walking in the middle of the river. A raised section running down the middle of the river is now acting as an island pathway. Mayan and Anat join the other survivors snaking along the raised shingle. The going is slow on the slippery moss-covered stones. High above, rocks loosened by the earthquake tumble down the mountainside and smash loudly on the riverbank beside them.

27:59Mayan moves gingerly. The blood loss and lack of food and water Mean she's taking care of every step Tiring She looks up to check the distance still to go And stops dead Eyes wide Mayan calls to Anat And points to the horizon I will never forget Seeing the bridge I saw the bridge That connect between the mountains Above the river And it was broken in the middle That was the bridge that brought us with a bus. The bridge that could bring us back to Chengdu. Now there is no bridge. What am I going to do now? The one road out for them, or in for any rescue, is gone.

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29:55Slumped and dejected, Mayan and Anat plod on. Moving is better than doing nothing. They continue to follow the crowd of people through the riverbed. Then suddenly, Anat grabs Mayan. A surprising, incongruous sound echoes through the trees. The sputter of an engine. Two young men on a motorbike are making their way along this small forest track. Anat waves them down and urges Mayan to show them her injury. Mayan summons her strength and limps over. Seeing her bandaged and bloodied mouth, one of the men offers Mayan his seat on the bike. He saw my face and he said, come on, come on the bike, I will take you to a local hospital.