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Since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, the media has been saturated with tales and images of grief and loss.
Amid all the destruction and misery, it is therefore, heart-warming to see an image like this surfacing:
Four-month-old Sonit Awal was trapped under a wooden beam after the earthquake reduced the family home to rubble.
His 9-year-old sister was watching him while their parents were out shopping, and she managed to escape unhurt.
Their father Shyam Awal clawed at the rubble with his bare hands in an effort to save the baby, while rescuers searched for him until midnight.
They almost gave up hope when they were unable to recover him.
But the next morning, Sonit was heard crying beneath the rubble.
By 10am — 22 hours after the earthquake — rescuers were finally able to pull the baby out of the wreck.
He was covered in a thick layer of concrete dust, but was otherwise unscathed.
We have Nepalese photojournalist Amul Thapa of Kathmandu Today to thank for the wonderful images of the rescue.
Sonit has since been reunited with his family and is doing very well.
“I prayed to every god I could and it looks like my prayers were answered,” said Shyam.
With their house reduced to ruins by the quake, the family is now living on the floor of a friend’s house. Despite this, they couldn’t be happier.
“I am just so happy. I cannot believe it,” said Sonit’s tearful mother, Rasmila Awal.
“I am the happiest man in the world,” his father declared.