An article on HuffPost Japan, accompanied by video footage of the rescue process, said the five workers rushed to the scene after discovering that the house of the elderly woman, who lived alone, had collapsed.
Le Huy Tuan, one of the rescuers, recalled that they had heard cries for help beneath the rubble upon arrival. The woman had survived after becoming trapped in a small space beneath a collapsed wall and door.
HuffPost Japan reported that the Vietnamese workers joined residents in clearing the debris with their bare hands and available tools, safely pulling the victim from the wreckage while aftershocks continued.
In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Tuan said: "At that moment, none of us thought about our own safety. We only cared about saving the elderly woman.
Japanese broadcaster TBS also covered the rescue, reporting that the Vietnamese nationals working in Yatsushiro city worked alongside residents to rescue the victim.
