Balakot (Pakistan), Oct. 18 (Reuters): Pakistani soldiers pulled a young girl alive from the rubble of her home more than a week after a deadly earthquake, officials said today, rekindling hopes that more survivors could still be found.

Six-year-old Taj-un-Nisa was rescued yesterday, nine days after the quake struck her village near the town of Balakot on October 8.

Another young girl was found alive on Sunday at a different village near the devastated town in North West Frontier Province.

Pakistan Kashmir and the Frontier province bore the brunt of the earthquake, and so far the death toll is estimated at over 41,000. Another 1,300 people died in Kashmir.

Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said Nisa’s parents had asked soldiers to search for the girl under the rubble of their house in Sakin Kunda village, without knowing if she was alive or dead. Sultan said a soldier found her under the debris.

“She survived because she was stuck under a cupboard which made some space for her,” he said. The girl just had a minor head injury.