nick
October 10th, 2009, 05:19 AM
A young man hacked off his own leg using a blunt hoe and then a saw after he became trapped in rubble following the Indonesian earthquake, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) revealed.
The construction worker, called Ramlan, was trapped in rubble when a concrete girder crushed his right leg up to the shin.
Fearing aftershocks, the 18-year-old decided his only means of escape was to cut off a leg and he grabbed a hoe.
Ramlan hacked at his leg but the instrument was too blunt to cut through to the bone.
Other workers had fled in panic in the aftermath of the quake, which hit the island of Sumatra on September 30.
But Ramlan was able to use his mobile to phone a friend, who returned to the scene in the capital of Padang.
Ramlan was handed a wood saw and continued the task until the pain became too great. His friend then finished the amputation.
The young man was rushed to Yos Sudarso Catholic hospital, where doctors cleaned his wound and made a further amputation slightly further up.
Full story here (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/indonesia/6286183/Trapped-man-cut-off-own-leg-after-Indonesian-earthquake.html)
The construction worker, called Ramlan, was trapped in rubble when a concrete girder crushed his right leg up to the shin.
Fearing aftershocks, the 18-year-old decided his only means of escape was to cut off a leg and he grabbed a hoe.
Ramlan hacked at his leg but the instrument was too blunt to cut through to the bone.
Other workers had fled in panic in the aftermath of the quake, which hit the island of Sumatra on September 30.
But Ramlan was able to use his mobile to phone a friend, who returned to the scene in the capital of Padang.
Ramlan was handed a wood saw and continued the task until the pain became too great. His friend then finished the amputation.
The young man was rushed to Yos Sudarso Catholic hospital, where doctors cleaned his wound and made a further amputation slightly further up.
Full story here (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/indonesia/6286183/Trapped-man-cut-off-own-leg-after-Indonesian-earthquake.html)