Stories of Miraculous Survivals and Rescues from Japan

Aimee Herd : Mar 16, 2011
William Lee Adams - CNN.com

"Her discovery has put a new energy into the search [for survivors]." -Japan civil defense official.

In the midst of the tragedy Japan has faced since March 11th, there have a few bright spots which CNN is reporting as "miracles."

On Monday, soldiers from Japan's Defense Force were charged with the grim task of going from house to house (or what remained of them) and pulling out bodies from the rubble.

After almost dismissing it, they realized they had heard a baby's cry. Following the sound, they moved away pieces of wood, rock and glass until they found her. A little 4-month-old infant girl lay wrapped securely in her pink woolen pram.

According to the report, both of her parents had survived the horrific earthquake, but their baby girl had been swept from their arms when the tsunami hit their house. Fearing the worst, they took shelter in what was left of their home.

Soldiers happily reunited the baby with her elated father; the event renewing hope for the searchers that perhaps there would be more who survived.

"Her discovery has put a new energy into the search," said a civil defense officer. "We will listen, look and dig with even more diligence after this."

There were other stories of survival as well; one 70-year-old woman who'd been swept out to sea along with her house was apparently determined to stay alive. Rescuers indeed found her on Tuesday, suffering from hypothermia, but otherwise okay.

And then there is Hiromitsu Shinkawa, who—after the tsunami pulled his house from its foundation and into the ocean—floated on a piece of rooftop until finally being spotted and rescued after 2 days.

"Several helicopters and ships passed but none of them noticed me," he told reporters after being helped to safety on March 13th. "I thought that was going to be the last day of my life."

The miraculous stories of survival help to bring a little hope into the desperate situation in Japan after the country's most powerful earthquake and tsunami has torn it apart.

Much prayer is called for as the situation with Japan's crippled nuclear plants grows in intensity—every day heightening threats of a dangerous meltdown.