Miracle boy pulled out of Maharashtra building rubble 19 hours after accident

Mumbai: A four-year-old boy was on Tuesday pulled out from the rubble of a five-storeyed building that collapsed in Raigad district of Maharashtra, police said.

The joy was shortlived as the lifeless body of his 30 -year-old mother Naushin Nadim Bangi was recovered from the same spot less than half an hour later.

The bodies of the boy's sisters Ayesha, 7, and Rukaiya, 2, were also recovered soon afterwards, an official said.

The boy, Mohammed Nadim Bangi, looking bewildered after his 19-hour ordeal amid the rubble, was taken by NDRF personnel to a waiting ambulance.

The boy's father Nadim Bangi works in Dubai and reached Mahad on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

A video shared by NDRF showed the rescuers taking out the boy from the rubble on a stretcher amid claps by onlookers.

NDRF Director General S N Pradhan termed the rescued boy as god's child.

"Miracle child rescued alive - Gods Child. @NDRFHQ teams find 4 year old Boy. Ops will continue, canines used. Lets all pray for more miracles," Pradhan tweeted.

A police official said the death toll after Monday's Tarek Garden building collapse in Mahad, around 170 km from Mumbai, has reached 13.

The NDRF, police, locals, and dog squads are working relentlessly to rescue people trapped under the debris, he said, adding 13 heavy duty excavators and other vehicles were engaged in removing it.

As the operation was underway, the rescue team spotted the boy under the debris, after which it started clearing the structure with help of gas cutter and other machines.

Local residents, who were watching the operation with baited breath, cheered with joy after the boy was rescued.

As the Ganesh festival is on, the locals chanted "Ganpati Bappa Morya" after the child was lifted onto a stretcher.

The boy has minor injuries on his body, the official said.

The child's aunt said she was happy after seeing him safe, adding she is praying that everybody who lived in the building is safe.