Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

THE miracle baby hauled from the rubble in the Nepalese earthquake snuggles up to his mum as she plants a tender kiss on his cheek.

Five-month-old Sonies Aawal was buried alive for 22 hours after his home was ­flattened while he slept in his cot.

Two of his teenage cousins died as the house shook but Sonies survived when a cupboard fell over him, creating a barrier.

In a pink Mickey Mouse sleepsuit, he now has scars on his face from his ordeal.

Amid the rubble of her destroyed family home, emotional mum Rasmila, 35, sobbed: “It is a miracle. I was certain he was dead. I am just so happy. I cannot believe it.

“I believe my son is the sign of hope for the future, for all of Nepal. I prayed to every God I could and it looks like my prayers were answered.”

The 7.8-magnitude quake struck at midday on Saturday. Last night the death toll hit 5844, with 11,000 hurt, Nepalese authorities said.

Up to 30 Brits are missing, with one death confirmed.

The Foreign Office said they were helping British nationals stuck in remote areas. The UK was also ready to send out extra aid and helicopters.

As rescuers hunting for survivors battled to shift huge piles of concrete in the rain, it emerged that a 15-year-old boy had been saved.

(Image: Rowan Griffiths)

He was traced by sniffer dogs after being trapped in a collapsed hotel for five days.

Yesterday, hours after we reported on Sonies’s rescue, Rasmila held her boy close and recalled the horror of the quake.

She said: “I had gone shopping and left my 10-year-old daughter Sonia with the baby.

“When the quake happened I burst into tears and ran towards our home. I was sure they were both dead.

“But Sonia had somehow got out. Sonies was still asleep in his bed and a huge pile of rubble fell on him. When you are here now and you see what is left of our house it is incredible to think he got out alive.”

She said a local heard Sonies crying at 8pm on Saturday.

Rasmila added: “That is when we realised he was alive. Relatives, friends and neighbours tried to reach him but could not get to him.

“We called the army and soldiers came on Sunday morning. It did not take too long as there were a lot of soldiers.

“They found him inside a cupboard that had fallen and somehow protected him. I would like to thank the soldiers. Our family is complete again.”

Truck driver husband Shyam, 34, smiled: “I am the happiest man in the world.”

Like many properties in the town of Muldhoka, just outside the capital Kathmandu, their home of 11 years has been destroyed. The bodies of the baby’s two teenage cousins were removed on Saturday afternoon.

Sonies’s baby toys sat deep in the rubble, but barely any of the family’s possessions were salvageable. They are now sleeping on the floor of a neighbour’s home.

Along with Sonies’s dramatic story, another family was celebrating last night after a shock rescue in Kathmandu.

Pemba Tamang, 15, was saved after being trapped under a collapsed seven-storey hotel for five days.

He survived by sipping dripping water from wet clothes and eating from two tubs of butter during his 120-hour hell.

Rescue teams reached him yesterday morning after being alerted by sniffer dogs to movement under the rubble. They worked for hours to get to Pemba out.

Andrew Olvera, of the US Agency for International Development, said: “He wasn’t too far down but the floors

collapsed and he’d pancaked between them.”

Dennis Bautista give him medical help. He said: “I can’t imagine what he went through. He’s a brave young man.”

Pemba was carried from the hotel on a backboard and wearing a neck brace.

Crowds cheered as he was pulled to safety and he was strong enough to say “thank you, thank you” to rescuers, before he was taken to hospital.

Some of the team lifted their commander in the air to celebrate.

Pemba, said to be in “remarkably good shape”, later told emergency crews that in the 24 hours before his rescue he had heard voices of others trapped.

He said: “There were so many people around me in the rubble. They were still screaming.”

As rain took hold yesterday, there were fears that the remarkable rescues of Sonies and Pemba may be some of

the last.

(Image: Rowan Griffiths)

Rameshwor Dandal, of Nepal’s disaster management centre, warned: “There may not be any more survivors. Nature seems to be against us.”

The confirmed British death was of Hemchandra Rai, 42, a married dad of three who lived in Hong Kong.

Another was feared to have died at the Everest Base Camp but it was still being investigated.

Yesterday, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said they had helped more than 300 Brits. She said: “We deployed teams to locate nationals in remote areas.

“Today they assisted eight British nationals who are being supported by embassy staff.” In the next few days the UK will send three RAF Chinooks to help the recovery effort.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the Government were also providing £2.5million to the UN Humanitarian Air Service.

She said: “The helicopters and UN aircraft will mean lifesaving aid supplies can be moved around Nepal and reach people in desperate need.

“Conditions are dire but the UK is determined to do everything it can to support Nepal.”

The Gurkhas said they hoped their homeland would pull through.

As 200 marched in London to mark 200 years of service to Britain, Major Dev Gurung said: “We have suffered a natural disaster of unthinkable magnitude.

“The road will be long but we are hopeful we will prevail.”