CONCORD, NH — Rescuers freed an 11-year-old boy who slipped between two boulders near his school and was trapped for more than nine hours, a New Hampshire fire chief said Monday.
The boy was pulled out of the boulders in Windsor at 3.15am. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation and released, according to Wediko School, where the boy is a student.
“On Sunday evening, under supervision, a student exploring a rocky area on campus slipped between two boulders when sticks and debris gave way beneath them,” the school, an all-boys treatment center, said in a statement Monday.
“Despite the efforts of several employees to free the student, they were unsuccessful and immediately called local emergency services,” the statement said. “Red crews worked tirelessly throughout the night and managed to rescue the student in the early hours of the morning.”
Firefighters received a call to respond just before 6 p.m. Sunday, where they found the boy “encased between the cracks” of a large boulder, Hillsborough Fire Chief Kenny Stafford said. They used ropes and a lubricant to save the child, he said.
First responders from at least five other communities, as well as state police and the Department of Fish and Game, helped with the rescue in Windsor, in southern New Hampshire.
Captain Adam Iverson of the Manchester Fire Department told WMUR-TV that rescuers had to tunnel from the side using hammers, saws and shovels to create some space under the boy to free his legs. They also used dish soap and thin pieces of plastic to reduce friction.
“Once that was done, the guys on top and underneath were able to lift him up and out,” Iverson said.