Fairfax County

Va. Team Rescues Boy Trapped in Rubble in Nepal

The boy was trapped following the massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook the country Saturday

A search and rescue team from Fairfax County assisted in the rescue a teenage boy who had been trapped in rubble in Nepal for five days.

The Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team, along with firefighters from California, rescued the teen Thursday.

"This has boosted their moral," said Randy Bittinger, a captain with the Fairfax County Fire Department. "They are so excited right now, and hopeful to find additional people they can rescue."

The teen became trapped following the massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook the country Saturday.

PHOTOS: Va. Team Rescues Nepal Boy

Andrew Olvera, the leader of the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team, told NBC News that the teen wasn’t crushed by the rubble. The boy had been trapped in a concrete "box" between floors of a collapsed building. Both teams worked for hours to rescue the buried teen. Nepali emergency service workers also assisted in the rescue. 

The teen was pulled from a small hole and was immediately put onto a backboard and moved a few feet away. He was given water and an intravenous drip before being placed in an ambulance. Rescuers told NBC News the teen was conscious and talking.

Bystanders broke out in cheers as they saw the survivor, loaded into the ambulance.

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"It's a miracle, a true miracle," a police force general at the scene told NBC News. "He came out and he's okay!"

The rescue came as the official death toll from Saturday's disaster rose above 5,500.

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