New Delhi: Miracles do happen! Amidst the chaos of the disastrous landslide which wiped out Malin village off the map, a baby's wail became the beacon that helped rescue workers save four members of a family.
The cries of three-month-old Rudra, buried under slush with his mother, were loud enough to catch the attention of disaster management teams who chased the sound to a tin shed completely covered in mud.
Rudra's mother was feeding him when the landslide hit, reducing their home into rubble, and she covered him and kept him alive.
Eight hours later, they were both pulled to safety, thanks to his loud, incessant crying. A further search revealed two more people crying for help. They were Rudra's grandparents.
"I held on to an iron shelf in the house used to keep utensils along with Rudra and kept on shouting for help which went unheeded. However, Rudra kept on crying loudly until rescuers managed to locate us," said Pramila, lying on a hospital bed with Rudra snuggling by her side looking surprisingly well.
Rudra's grandmother Shakuntala Pingle said, "I still don't know how we survived."
All four are now at a government hospital 60 km from Malin. Doctors say they are not hurt badly, just shocked at finding most of their neighbours dead.
An NDRF official said that mother and child remained trapped from 8 am to 4.30 pm on Wednesday until Rudra's crying kept beckoning them to the right spot where the debris had developed a little crack, just enough to let air filter through the landslide debris.
On Thursday, rescue workers continued their search for possible survivors using earth moving machines, as mass cremations took place a little distance away.
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