Published on 10:56 AM, April 30, 2015

Baby pulled from Nepal earthquake rubble after 22 hours

Nepali soldiers had given up their search on Saturday night but returned when Sonit's father heard cries. Photo: CNN
Star Online Report

A photo of a baby boy being pulled from the rubble of the Nepal earthquake has become the defining image of a disaster that has devastated the country, reports the news agency CNN.

His tiny face is coated in dust from the debris that crashed around him as the earth shook on Saturday, April 25, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring at least twice as many more.

His name is Sonit Awal, and he's just four months old.

On Saturday, Sonit was at home in Muldhoka, Bhaktapur, east of the capital Kathmandu, when the 7.8-magnitude quake sent tremors through Nepal and neighboring countries, according to Kathmandu Today.

Katmandu Today, a Nepalese newspaper photographed the rescue and writes the infant was rescued by the Nepalese army and is in stable condition. Photo: CNN
His rescuers held him high in their hands to the sun, though his eyes were still wedged tightly shut.

Sonit's face was exposed during the whole ordeal, though a hooded top and shawl protected his head and body during the cold night spent under rubble.

The baby was taken to Bhaktapur Hospital and found to be uninjured;

Baby Sonit Awal spent 22 hours buried in the rubble of his home.Photo: CNN
His unlikely rescue provides some hope to a country that has experienced so much loss.
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