Rescuers acknowledged that hope is fading in the search for additional survivors of the massive earthquake that hit the area Tuesday, Aug. 17, 1999. 'Tens of thousands of victims were pinned under the wreckage when the many poorly constructed three- and four-story commercial and residential buildings in the region collapsed in the quake,' city official Demitri Psaropoulos said Monday. 'Sadly, the sweltering heat and lack of water make survival chances slim for anyone still trapped in the rubble.' The official death toll from the devastating earthquake reached 17,000 in November 1999. 