Odds Bodkin - Christchurch Earthquake hits close to home!

A WONDERFUL FAMILY OUTCOME AMID THE DEVASTATION IN CHRISTCHURCH

[from Dan Hutchinson and other reporters covering the Christchurch Earthquake]

LATEST:

Ann Bodkin has been rescued from the rubble of the Pyne Gould Corporation building more than 24 hours after a devastating earthquake caused it to collapse - she had been protected by a desk that she had crawled under.

As the Pyne Gould Corporation building shook in another tremor, Ann was pulled alive from the rubble at about 1.15pm today.

Rescuers had been working for about three hours to break through the rubble and concrete to get to Ann. Authorities reportedly heard her tapping through a wall where she was trapped in a very confined space halfway up the wreckage of the building.

Ann finally crawled from the wreckage onto a fire service ladder and was lowered down and lifted to the ground by fire fighters.

Rescuers burst into applause as Ann Bodkin emerged – giggling – from the pancaked Pyne Gould Corporation building, where she had been pinned under her desk for 25 hours. Her relieved husband broke into a grateful grin as she was lowered to safety.

Her emotional husband, Graham Richardson, had spent an "unbearable" night in an anxious vigil not knowing where his wife was. He was waiting nervously for her arrival. He said it was just amazing to have her back in his arms.

Ann was rushed to hospital, but appeared to have sustained no injuries besides a sore shoulder - she is expected to be released tonight.

Ann, who works at the Education Review Office on the third floor, had dived under her work station desk when the quake struck.

Her sister Sally Bodkin-Allen, from Invercargill, said "it just seems like a miracle ... it must be a very strong desk and she must have got under it very quickly."

For all our wild joy in recovering Jane’s sister Ann, we somberly remember those who are still waiting for news – and those who may have already lost their friends and loved ones.

While we rejoice in our own good fortune we feel a deep community, understanding and sympathy with those who continue to suffer.