MIRACLE BABY
Incredible moment 11-month-old baby is pulled alive from collapsed apartment block 35 HOURS after deadly gas explosion
The baby's father called his survival "a New Year's miracle”
THIS is the incredible moment an 11-month-old baby is pulled alive from a collapsed apartment block 35 hours after a deadly gas explosion.
Labouring through sub-freezing temperatures, Russian rescue workers were digging into a sprawling heap of jagged rubble when one heard a faint cry.
6
To the team's delight, they pulled a baby boy out of the rubble.
His father called it "a New Year's miracle”.
The building collapse in the Russian city of Magnitogorsk before dawn Monday has killed at least nine people so far, and more than 30 people who lived in the building have still not been accounted for.
The boy, named Ivan Fokin, was in extremely serious condition, officials said, with fractures, a head injury and suffering from hypothermia after his ordeal in temperatures around -20C.
6
He was being flown to Moscow in a desperate attempt to save his life.
Ivan's prospects for survival appeared dire, but on Tuesday evening he was battling on.
Top doctors from the region are seeking to save the child, say reports.
Both his legs are broken and he had suffered a head injury and has frost bite.
6
The father Yevgeny, 35, was at work when his wife Olga, 31, phoned to say the building had collapsed.
She escaped the rubble with a 3-year-old son, Russian news reports said.
Rescue worker Pyotr Gritsenko said on Russian television that baby's discovery came after one of the crew heard faint cries.
6
6
He said: "They stopped all the equipment. He began to cry louder.”
But the crew couldn't find him, he said.
A search dog was brought in and confirmed that someone was under the rubble, focusing the rescue effort.
Regional governor Boris Dubrovsky said: "The child was saved because it was in a crib and wrapped warmly.”
6
The rescue operation, aided by powerful heaters and lights, was continuing overnight into Wednesday in the city about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) southeast of Moscow.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the accident site on Monday and went to a local hospital, where he spoke to a 13-year old-boy who had head injuries and frostbite after spending an hour under the rubble.
Russian officials say the odds of finding anyone else alive in the debris look increasingly slim, given the extreme weather.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.