Buried woman found alive

Trapped next to the body of her son

A 55-year-old woman has been rescued from the rubble of her apartment block, six days after a massive earthquake laid ruin to the western Indian state of Gujurat.

Miraculous survivors

Jyotsnabhen Gandhi, 55, found in Ahmedabad after almost 118 hours

Niliniben Kumbhare, 25, and infant son, found after 100 hours

A 24-year-old man, found virtually uninjured after 103 hours

Parth Pradeep Joshi, a boy freed in a 12-hour rescue operation

Jyotsnabhen Gandhi was found alive by Indian soldiers and the local fire department in Gujarat's main city, Ahmedabad.

She had been trapped for almost 118 hours next to the decomposing body of her son and almost certainly knew her husband was dead elsewhere in the collapsed building, officials said.

The rescue came as international relief teams were starting to give up hope of finding more survivors.

Reports said the woman was in a critical condition, after having both legs and an arm amputated.

''It's a miracle that she is alive,'' said the Municipal Commissioner, K Kailashnathan. ''We had all given up hope.''

Hopes fading

A British rescuer in Bhuj, the town close to the quake's epicentre, said hopes of finding anyone else alive were fading.

"We think we'll give it one more day," Mark Thomas said, adding that people were unlikely to survive without water for five days.

The BBC's Daniel Lak in Ahmedabad says the incident has given hope to the thousands of people who still have loved ones missing.

He adds that the rescue shows the advantage local rescue teams have, despite the lack of high technology listening devices and sniffer dogs.

Soldiers at the scene said residents insisted someone was alive in the ruined building and made them keep digging.