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24th Nov 2022

6-year-old boy found alive in earthquake rubble after two days in Indonesia

Kat O'Connor

“It felt like a miracle.”

A six-year-old child has been found alive after he was trapped in earthquake rubble for two days.

The boy, named Azka, became trapped after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia and was stuck under rubble for two full days.

Despite having no food or water, he survived – with rescuers removing him from the debris in a “miracle” operation.

The earthquake caused mass devastation in the town of Cianjur, West Java on Monday (21 November). A total of 271 people have been killed.

However, following the successful rescue, people now believe more survivors could be saved.

One rescuer told AFP: “Once we realised Azka was alive everybody broke into tears, including me.

“It was very moving, it felt like a miracle.”

The young boy was taken out of a destroyed property, believed to be his home.

Unfortunately, the six-year-old’s mother passed away following the devastating earthquake.

His grandmother was also killed with her body being found close to the young boy during the rescue.

Rescuers admitted they did not think Azka was alive, saying the odds were against the young boy and that he was presumed dead given the devastation caused by the earthquake.

The team explained that he was saved by a wall that was holding up another collapsed wall.

The rescuer told AFP: “We didn’t expect him to still be alive after 48 hours, if we knew we would have tried harder the night before,” he said.

“For all the years since I became a volunteer, I’ve never seen anything like this. How can you not cry?”

Feature Image: AFP