Following a 4.3 magnitude earthquake in Italy on Monday, three young boys are alive today after being trapped for more than 15 hours.
Eleven-year-old Ciro, along with his two younger brothers, took refuge under the mattress of their bunk bed when their house in Ischia off the coast of Naples collapsed.
The boys’ parents—including their mother, who is seven months pregnant—were rescued first. The couple then waited in agony as workers tried to pull their children from the rubble.
“Please save me, help! I don’t want to die,” Ciro screamed as Italian rescue workers worked relentlessly to save the young boys.
According to Luca Cari, a spokesman for the Italian Fire Service, rescue crews worked all night, “taking enormous risks,” to pull the boys from the rubble.
The first to be saved was seven-month-old Pasquale, followed by his brother Mattias.
Little Pasquale, who was still clothed in his cotton pajamas and nappy, cried as frightened babies do—but was remarkably unscathed.
“0400, Ischia, a miracle – baby pulled alive from the rubble,” the Italian fire service Tweeted after the rescue.
“It was Ciro who saved his little brother Mattias,” said police officer Andrea Gentile. “After the quake hit, he shoved him under the bed, which saved the lives of both of them. Then with a broom handle he tapped the rubble so that rescuers would hear them.”
Finally, earlier this morning, crews were able to open a small passage in the rubble to pass Ciro some water and an oxygen mask while they continued working to save him.
He was the last to be rescued, more than 15 hours after the deadly earthquake hit on Monday night that has left one woman dead and 39 others injured.
“There was silence for a while, they were tired,” reported a spokeswoman for the fire department. “Then they began speaking again and we drew comfort from that.”
“I promised them that after this was all over we would all go and get a pizza together,” added another emergency responder, who was sure to make good on his word.
According to a report by the Telegraph, “the boys’ father, whose hands were bandaged after he spent the night helping firemen claw through the wreckage, hugged relatives tearfully as his eldest son was rescued.”
Ciro is said to be in good condition, and all three of the boys are recovering now with their parents.
The firefighters and emergency rescue squad that spent tireless hours try to save the boys describe their survival as nothing short of a “miracle.”
