A Fordham University Law School graduate was miraculously pulled alive from rubble in the devastating earthquake in Iran that killed her boyfriend. Adele Freedman was in severe condition last night in a Tehran hospital after her tour guide summoned a rescue party to dig her and her boyfriend, Tobb Dell'Oro, out of a collapsed hotel where they were staying.
"That woman [the tour guide] is a hero. I don't know how we could ever thank her," Dell'Oro's sister Tam Dell'Oro told the Daily News last night.
Freedman's story of survival came on a day when rescuers had all but given up hope of finding any more survivors from Friday's predawn monster quake that killed at least 22,000 people and left 100,000 homeless.
Tam Dell'Oro of northern California said her brother and Freedman were vacationing when thequake hit. They had gone to the Iranian city of Bam to visit a 2,000-year-old citadel.
"They phoned us before the earthquake. They told us that they were so happy. That they were having such a wonderful time," said Dell'Oro.
The couple, who both graduated from Cornell University in upstate Ithaca, had traveled the world together, from the South Pole to Cambodia, Thailand and Burma.
After graduating from Fordham, Freedman worked as an associate at the White & Case law firm in Manhattan. She is now a partner in a northern California law firm.
"They loved going and exploring all the reaches of the world. They were a very loving and devoted couple," Dell'Oro said.
She said her family was touched that the couple's tour guide, Farzaneh Khademi, would set aside everything to search for her brother and Freedman.
"As soon as the earthquake happened she gathered up other people and went over to where Tobb and Adele were staying, and they dug them out," she said. "She put Tobb and Adele in her car and she drove through the pandemonium to the closest hospital."
The State Department said last night that Tobb Dell'Oro, 41, is believed to be the only American killed. Tam said her brother, who ran a market research firm in California, and Freedman were "treated like royalty" before and after the quake.
"We are absolutely amazed at how the Persians [Iranians] have opened their arms," Dell'Oro said. "They were not put at the back of the line at the hospital. They were welcomed by the Persians."
Officials fear the final death toll in Bam will top 30,000. Only one man was pulled alive from the rubble yesterday. END According to what we are hearing, Tobb had proposed to Adele that evening, and she had accepted.
Tobb was a wonderful man. I suspect he's a little irritated at me right now for wallowing in my own grief when there are living people who need help. with that in mind, please check out the address below- it's for the national Iranian American council- they are taking donations for the relief effort.
http://www.niacouncil.org/iranquake.asp
I have checked out this group with some folks in the know, and they say it is a reputable organization.
thank all of you so much for your support and compassion.
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