Possible to survive 7 days under rubble

(ANSA) - Rome, August 25 - A person in good health can survive for a week under rubble providing he or she does not have serious injuries and can breathe, Mario Costa, past president of Società Sistema 118, said Thursday.
    "The chance of survival depends on various factors" including age and physical condition, he continued amid fears that many people may still be trapped in collapsed buildings after Wednesday's 6.2-magnitude earthquake in central Italy that left at least 247 people dead. The biggest threat to survival is posed by injury or serious fractures or by so-called 'crush syndrome' that occurs when body parts are compressed. "These conditions obviously lower resistance considerably," Costa said.