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Rescuers have found a 15-year-old boy still alive in rubble in Kathmandu five days after the earthquake that has killed more than 5,500 people in Nepal .
Described on Twitter as a “miracle boy”, efforts to pull him from the rubble were reported live from the scene on BBC Five Live. An alert from the Associated Press news agency suggested he was later successfully freed.
The boy was discovered by a Nepalese search team working with a group of rescuers from USAID, who said he had been buried in the rubble of a collapsed home.
Earthquake survivor Pema Lama, 15, is rescued by the Armed Police Force from the collapsed Hilton Hotel (Reuters) The American team’s leader, Andrew Olvera, said: “We have lights, we have generators, we have heavy breaching equipment, jackhammers, and we're trying to get him out."
He said the boy was not too far down, but the building’s seven floors had collapsed and “he's pancaked between them”.
It comes after dramatic images emerged on of a very young baby who was pulled from the rubble after being trapped for 22 hours .
The latest death toll from officials suggests Saturday’s quake killed more than 5,500 people across several countries, including 5,489 in Nepal itself and 61 in neighbouring India and Bangladesh. Chinese officials say 25 people died in Tibet.
With around 11,500 people injured in Nepal and rescuers still struggling to reach some remote areas, it seems certain that more stories like that of the 15-year-old boy in Kathmandu – as well as others who were not so lucky – are going to emerge.
Powerful earthquake hits NepalShow all 44 1 /44Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Victims of the earthquake are cremated at Pashupatinah Temple in Kathmandu
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal An elderly woman prays at a temple in Kathmandu damaged by the earthquake
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Nepalese police push back residents who began protesting after waiting for hours in line to board buses back to towns and villages
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal A Nepalese policeman guards a collapsed building in Kathmandu. The number of people killed in the earthquake has passed 5,000 according to official figures
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal A woman stands in silence in front of the historic Bal Krishna Thapa Chhetry temple in Kathmandu, which was been damaged by the earthquake
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Rescuers from Japan in the centre of Kathmandu; they are facing a race against time to find survivors
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Pallets of Australian aid (blankets, tarpaulins, hygiene kits and water purification tablets) are loaded onto a No. 36 Squadron C-17A Globemaster aircraft in preparation for delivery to Nepal
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Rishi Khanal is rescued after being trapped in a collapsed building in Nepal’s capital following Saturday’s earthquake
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Villagers shelter from rain in the Gorkha district, north-west of Kathmandu; 10 days of rain are forecast, with tens of thousands of people sleeping outdoors
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal A prayer bell is seen on top of the rubble of a damaged temple after an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal People search through the rubble at the earthquake damaged Durbar Square in Kathmandu. Hundreds of thousands of Nepalis spent another night in the open after a massive quake which killed more than 4,000
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal A priest prepares a fire for the cremation of an earthquake victim at Pashupati cremation center in Kathmandu, Nepal. The official death toll from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake has risen to 5,057 people
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal A Nepalese villager injured in an earthquake holds her son as they sit inside an Indian Army helicopter after being evacuated from Lapu in Gorkha
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal A satellite image showing a part of the city's historic center, left, before the 25 April 2015 earthquake and the after effects, right
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal An injured woman and her daughter receive medical treatment after arriving at Dhading hospital, in the aftermath of the earthquake, in Dhading Besi
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal An elderly woman mourns in front of her destroyed home in the Kumalpur village, on the outskirts of capital Kathmandu
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake victims collect belongings and salvage food items from a destroyed building after a major earthquake, Kumalpur village, on the outskirts of capital Kathmandu
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal A Nepalese girl injured in the earthquake holds the hand of her mother inside an Indian air force helicopter as they are evacuated from Trishuli Bazar to Kathmandu airport in Nepal
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Nepalese victims of the earthquake lie inside an Indian air force helicopter as they are evacuated from Trishuli Bazar to Kathmandu airport in Nepal
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal An injured boy sleeps on the ground outside the overcrowded Dhading hospital in Dhading Besi
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Members of a rescue team from China huddle while planning their operation at the site of earthquake in Kathmandu
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Local people gather at the top of large mound where once stood a temple to view the scene of devastation in Kathmandu
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal People pray before cremating the body of a victim of the earthquake, along a river in Kathmandu, Nepal
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Nepalese soldiers carry a wounded man on a makeshift stretcher to a waiting Indian air force helicopter as they evacuate victims of the earthquake from Trishuli Bazar to Kathmandu airport in Nepal
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal An Indian Air Force person carries a Nepalese child, wounded in the earthquake, to a waiting ambulance after the child and mother were evacuated from a remote area at the airport in Kathmandu
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal An Indian Air Force person walks carrying a Nepalese child, wounded in the earthquake, to a waiting ambulance as the mother follows after they were evacuated from a remote area at the airport in Kathmandu
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Indian resident Santosh (2L) is met by relatives after being evacuated following an earthquake in Nepal at the railway station in Amritsar
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal A helicopter prepares to rescue people from camp 1 and 2 at Everest Base Camp, Nepal
Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal People carry a woman from the rubble of a destroyed building after an earthquake hit Nepal, in Kathmandu, Nepal
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal People try to free a living man from the rubble of a destroyed building after an earthquake hit Nepal
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal A man struggles to free himself from under the rubble of a destroyed building after an earthquake hit Nepal, in Kathmandu, Nepal
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal People free a man from the rubble of a destroyed building after an earthquake hit Nepal, in Kathmandu, Nepal
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Dust can be seen over the city during an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, 25 April 2015.
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal A building stands damaged after an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, April 25, 2015
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Nepalese people walk past a collapsed building in Kathmandu on April 25, 2015.
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal An injured man is assisted after an earthquake caused serious damage in Kathmandu, Nepal, 25 April 2015.
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal An injured child lies on the ground outside the Medicare Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, April 25
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Nepalese health workers carry injured people into an open area following an 7.9 earthquake, at Lalitpur on the outskirts of Kathmandu on April 25, 2015.
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Indian bystanders look at a collapsed house following an earthquake, in Siliguri on April 25, 2015
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Volunteers help with rescue work at the site of a building that collapsed after an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, April 25
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Nepalese rescue members and onlookers gather at the collapsed Darahara Tower in Kathmandu on April 25, 2015.
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal People search for survivors stuck under the rubble of a destroyed building, after an earthquake caused serious damage in Kathmandu, Nepal, 25 April 2015.
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Nepalese rescue members move the body of a victim from the collapsed Darahara Tower in Kathmandu
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Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Earthquake hits Nepal Health workers take care of injured people outside the Manmohan Memorial Community Hospital after an earthquake caused serious damage in Kathmandu, Nepal
EPA
After the massive earthquake in Haiti that levelled Port-au-Prince in 2010, one father of two was pulled from the rubble after an extraordinary 27 days trapped in the rubble.
In 2005, 40-year-old Naqsha Bibi survived 63 days buried in the remains of her kitchen in Pakistan-administered Kashmir following a massive earthquake in 2005. She survived on rotten food and water trickling in from a stream.
Meanwhile, a flight carrying more than 100 British nationals left stranded in earthquake-hit Nepal has landed safely back in the UK.
An aid flight chartered by the Government’s Department for International Development (DfID), carrying 120 people, arrived at a private hangar at Stansted Airport at around 3am on Thursday morning.
Some 300 British citizens have been housed in the embassy in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday.
Earlier Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed there had been a single British fatality in the disaster, while officials were “urgently investigating2 reports that another Briton had died at Mount Everest base camp.
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