China Earthquake: Woman Sawed Her Leg Off

FOUR days after the earthquake, some harrowing tales of survival are being told.

Gong Tianxiu, a 40-year-old woman, cut off her own right leg to escape the rubble, the Beijing Times reported yesterday.

Rescuers found Gong in the debris of an Agricultural Bank of China branch in Beichuan County after she had been trapped for 73 hours. They soon found it was impossible to remove the stone from her leg and set her free.

The only way to save Gong was to amputate the leg, the newspaper reported. But surgeons could not do the operation as the space was too small. Rescuers then handed a saw to Gong, who cut off her right leg.

Source