Ma Yuanjiang, a power plant executive, was rescued at around 00:50 a.m. Tuesday from the rubble in Wenchuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province, nearly 179 hours after the May 12 earthquake.

He was surprisingly able to speak after being rescued, and shortly after he began to eat a little, and was in sober condition, said Wu Geng, Ma's colleague and also head of the plant, who was at the rescue spot.

Ma was at meeting when the magnitude 8.0 earthquake ravaged the plant office building, and he was trapped in the debris of the second floor, which has set huge difficulties to rescuers.

The 31-year-old survivor was pulled by a Shanghai rescue team from the debris of a flattened power plant, after more than 30 hours' efforts.

Rescuers found Ma in the afternoon on May 18 at the debris of a flattened office building, when they were digging a hole trying to reach Yu Jinhua, a colleague of Ma.