An elderly Daur man named Alatan Bagentaoqi has survived both the Tangshan and Wenchuan earthquakes, the Beijing Times reported on May 23, 2008.

"I was buried inside a coal mine for 10 days during the Tangshan earthquake and I did not die. This time I was buried again during the Wenchuan earthquake and I also survived," Alatan Bagentaoqi told the Beijing Times.

When the Wenchuan earthquake struck on May 12 at 14:28, Alatan Bagentaoqi was visiting the township head at the Leigu town office. "We heard several blasts; the tables were shaking and a cup of water spilled all over me. By the time we realized it was an earthquake, it's too late to run away," he recalled. After several shockwaves he was buried under a mass of fallen bricks and cement boards along with town head Li Zhenglin and the town's Discipline Inspection chief He Gang.

Alatan Bagentaoqi and He Gang were trapped and could not move. Luckily, Li Zhenglin was able to crawl out to seek help. When they were pulled out of the collapsed building, He Gang's feet were severely hurt, but Alatan Bagentaoqi was only slightly bruised. "Actually this was the second time I have experienced a massive earthquake," the senior man said. He had also been buried alive inside a coalmine for 10 days during the Tangshan earthquake.

"I clearly remember the day: July 28, 1976," he recalled. "We went to inspect the coal mine after a seminar. I'm not sure how long we'd been in the mine. Suddenly we heard a loud noise and the entrance became blocked. All of us thought that it was just a landslide so we did not pay much attention. But no one came to help us the next morning. We waited until 9 AM, but we heard nothing at all from the outside. It was then we realized that something serious must have happened on the outside. Several brave guys tried to dig their way out of the coalmine entrance but failed. So we just stayed there waiting for outside help."

Though some 30 years have passed, Alatan Bagentaoqi could still clearly describe what he had experienced during the destructive Tangshan earthquake.

By drinking condensation from the walls of the coalmine, Alatan Bagentaoqi and his fellow seminar participants stayed alive after being trapped underground for 10 days. "I was wide awake for the first five days but gradually I fell into an unconscious state during the last five days. So I did not even know who saved my life," he remarked. He still hopes to eventually meet up with his rescuers but his wish has yet to be fulfilled.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Ming'ai, May 23, 2008)