A six-year-old child was miraculously rescued alive in Indonesia after spending more than two days trapped under the rubble of a destroyed home amid hopes and prayers. This happened after a strong earthquake devastated the western Java province.
Following the destruction of his home in Nagrak Village, Cianjur, by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake, Azka Maulana Malik was discovered still alive buried beside the bodies of his mother and grandmother.
Azka made it out alive thanks to a mattress’s protection. The youngster was shown in a video posted by Indonesia’s National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) looking to be calm and conscious as he was being pulled out of the debris by rescue workers.
“Once we realized Azka was alive, everybody broke into tears, including me,” 28-year-old local volunteer Jeksen told AFP on Thursday. “It was very moving, it felt like a miracle.”
Even though it is said that Azka’s injuries are not severe, he is now receiving care at a temporary hospital.
“The doctor said he’s only weak because he’s hungry. He wants to go home now. He’s been asking for his mother,” he said while adding that his mother couldn’t survive.
Indonesia Earthquake: At least 268 dead, and over 151 still missing two days after the disaster
Over 2,000 individuals have reportedly been hurt, and over 60,000 people have been forced to relocate.
The most populous province in Indonesia, West Java, contains the town of Cianjur, which is home to around 175,000 people. Currently at 271, the death toll is projected to grow because of the nonstop rain and the fact that rescue personnel has not yet reached certain distant places.
Experts claim that the Cianjur earthquake on Monday was caused by a change in the Cimandiri fault, one of West Java’s major faults with significant potential for destruction.
