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, according to 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.
The house collapsed, burying the child, leaving his father Shyam Awal frantically searching for him amid the rubble.
A desperate Awal called the Nepalese Army, and they too scrambled through the dirt and debris until midnight, before giving up hope and leaving.
Sonit’s father had lost all hope of finding his son alive, the paper reported, until he heard faint cries from below.
On Sunday morning, the soldiers returned and at 10 a.m they lifted Sonit clear of the fallen rocks, beams, bricks and dust that had trapped him for 22 hours.
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;
His unlikely rescue provides some hope to a country that has experienced so much loss.
This article was originally published in CNN.
