Rescuers Within Five Feet of Boy Trapped by Quake

Rescuers again heard signals this morning from a 9-year-old boy who has been buried alive for more than two weeks under 20 tons of rubble from a devastating earthquake that demolished an apartment building.

Rescuers, who continued their frantic search for Luis Ramon Mazerati as dawn broke over the capital, said less than five feet of concrete separated them from the boy.

The boy has been sending signals by faint tappings, the first on Sunday.

The workers called for nearly an hour of silence at the site this morning so sound equipment could pick up signals from inside. The last taps from the boy were heard at 8:30 a.m., said rescue worker Jorge Sanchez Zermeno.

Signals From One Person

Rescuers said they were picking up signs of life from only one person, although relatives said the boy was with his grandfather.

Since his distant signals were first heard Sunday, progress reaching the boy has been very slow. Rescuers say they must take a circuitous route to reach the child because of the way a wall had fallen around him.

Dr. Enrique Camacho Romero, a veterinarian in charge of one rescue team, said that until the new contact this morning, they had last communicated with the child, calling his name into a microphone and listening for his knock, around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The boy’s tapping was faint because “it is difficult for him to raise his hand,” he said. Workers and doctors who visited the site said it appeared that Luis was too weak to talk.

Parallel Tunnels

A relief worker, Sergio Andreas Fernandez, said two parallel tunnels had been dug and the boy was thought to be between them. A Red Cross worker said the operation was complicated because the floor had caved in around the boy.