Indonesia earthquake: Six-year-old 'Miracle' boy pulled from rubble, ‘Blessing’ baby born in tent

Cianjur: Just a couple of days after Indonesia’s deadly earthquake that killed at least 271 people, locals are rejoicing as a six-year-old ‘miracle’ boy was pulled from the rubble while a ‘blessing’ baby was born. Several days after the earthquake, heavily pregnant Rohmat Kartini began experiencing contractions. After narrowly escaping the earthquake on Monday with her husband, Rohmat had to travel for hours on mud-filled roads to a temporary medical facility set up in a tent in an open field. Rohmat and her husband Solihin welcomed their fourth child at the same time that others were dealing with the devastation left behind by the magnitude-5.6 earthquake. “Perhaps this earthquake carried its own blessing for my wife, because my wife was handled by specialist doctors who were very good. My wife made it into labour, the baby was born and I am happy with the blessings,” Solihin said, holding the baby boy wrapped in a purple blanket. Obstetrician Monica Wulandari, who delivered the baby, said the process was made all the more difficult by aftershocks and limited medical equipment and medication. Miracle rescue In a “miracle” rescue, a 6-year-old kid was rescued from the wreckage of a devastating Indonesian earthquake after being stranded under debris for two days without food or drink. Hopes that survivors could still be rescued alive from the wreckage days after the strong tremor hit were revived by the dramatic rescue that was captured on camera on Wednesday night. “Once we realised Azka was alive everybody broke into tears, including me,” 28-year-old local volunteer Jeksen told Agence France-Presse on Thursday. “It was very moving, it felt like a miracle.” Video showed rescuers pulling the boy Azka from a destroyed home in Cianjur’s worst-hit district of Cugenang, wearing the blue shirt and trousers he had on when he became trapped. The man who pulled him out of a hole cut in the debris clasped him in both arms, as another rescuer in an orange hard hat ran after them to hold the boy’s hand, footage released by the administration of West Java’s Bogor district showed. Azka – who like many Indonesians goes by one name – was then shown calmly sipping a drink, held by a soldier as another emergency worker stroked his hair. His mother died in the earthquake and her body was found hours before Azka’s rescue, a volunteer told Agence France-Presse on Thursday. The boy was then found next to his dead grandmother, Jeksen said. He was only saved by a wall holding up another collapsed wall, preventing it from falling on him, local media reported. “He was found on the left side of the house, on a bed. He was protected by a pillow and there was a 10-centimetre gap between him and the concrete slab,” said Jeksen. “Such a narrow space, it was dark, hot and there was not enough hole for air.” “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?” Many of those killed in the quake were children at school or in their homes when it struck, officials said. But authorities warned that time was running out as rescuers were delayed by hammering rain and potentially deadly aftershocks. “Today for the search and rescue operation we deployed 6,000 people. It was raining but we keep searching,” said Suharyanto, head of the national disaster mitigation agency, or BNPB. “Please pray for us so the 40 missing people could be found.” Authorities are continuing to search for dozens who remain buried under debris, including a missing seven-year-old girl. Indonesia is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, regularly recording strong earthquakes offshore where fault lines run. Monday’s quake, followed by more than 160 aftershocks, was particularly deadly because it struck a densely populated area at a depth of just 10km (6 miles). Poor construction standards also caused buildings to collapse, officials said. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .