An American volunteer chopper pilot taking part in rescue efforts in the hurricane-ravaged Bahamas made a startling discovery — as many as 40 survivors still alive in the debris.

Justin Johnson, who owns a Florida helicopter company, was in the Bahamas with MEDIC Corps when he made the remarkable discovery on Little Abaco Island — among the hardest hit by Hurricane Dorian two weeks ago, NBC News reported Saturday.

Angela Johnson, the pilot’s wife, said the volunteers initially shrugged off a reporter’s suggestion that they check debris in Fox Town, a remote village on the island. But they eventually decided to take a look.

When the helicopter landed, she said people began to emerge from the pile, NBC said.

“Pack up everything,” Justin said. “That place (the reporter) found has 30 to 40 people living in it.”

The volunteers began distributing food and water and set up tents for the survivors, many of whom were Haitian refugees who feared they would be deported.

His wife said the survivors were “dancing, hands raised up to the heavens.”

MEDIC Corps, an Arizona-based disaster relief nonprofit, said in a statement the survivors were “in desperate need” of supplies and support.

The Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama Island were the hardest hit sections of the archipelago when Dorian struck on Sept. 1 as a Category 5 hurricane. For two days, the monster storm sat over the islands battering them with wind gusts over 220 mph and storm surges that topped 20 feet in places.

The official death toll remains at 50, but officials expect the number to rise radically. As many as 2,500 have been reported missing.

Relief and rescue efforts, which were halted Saturday when Tropical Storm Humberto passed over the islands, resumed on Sunday.