11-Year-Old Boy Rescued After Being Trapped Between Boulders for 9 Hours: 'The Incident Quickly Escalated'

09/17/2024 05:57 PM

Local authorities said the rescue went "well into the early morning hours" as they tried to free the child who had slipped and fell in between two boulders

An 11-year-old New Hampshire boy was rescued after being trapped for several hours between two boulders.

Hillsboro Fire and EMS responded to a report of a boy trapped between two boulders at Camp Wediko in Windsor at around 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15, according to WHDH-TV, Boston 25 News and the New York Post.

Fire officials said in a statement obtained by Boston 25 News and WHDH-TV that when fire crews arrived they found the child stuck in the crevasse of two boulders before "the incident quickly escalated."

Hillsboro Fire and EMS described the rescue as a "technical" one in an update on Facebook and said that it lasted throughout the "night" and "well into the early morning hours." Authorities further thanked several of its "mutual aid companies," including Concord, Washington and Manchester departments among others, for assisting.

Related: Boy, 2, Trapped for Over 3 Days After Falling 360 Feet Down Well: We Are 'Broken,' Dad Says

Manchester Fire Battalion Chief Jon Fosher told the Post that fire crews were unable to move the boulders or chip them away, so crews ended up having to dig him out from between the boulders. 

"We basically had to tunnel underneath the boulder to get access to the child's feet which allowed us something to push on from the bottom," Fosher said.

Hillsboro Fire and EMS also shared a photo of the rescue to Facebook showing several fire trucks and rescue vehicles along with equipment, including large lights, ladders and boxes of tools laid out on the ground. 

Related: Boy, 11, Rescued from House Fire After Making a Phone Call to His Mom While Trapped Inside Cupboard

The department told local outlets that after working through the night, they were finally able to free the boy at around 3:16 a.m. on the morning of Monday, Sept. 16. The child was then transported to a nearby hospital. Fire crews eventually cleared the area around 4:30 a.m.

Hillsboro Fire and EMS and Camp Wediko did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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Wediko, a residential treatment center that the boy attended, shared in a statement with the Post that "while under supervision, a student exploring a rocky area on campus slipped between two boulders when sticks and debris gave way beneath them."

The school continued, "Despite multiple staff members' efforts to free the student, they were unsuccessful and promptly called local emergency rescue services. Emergency responders worked tirelessly through the night, successfully rescuing the student in the early morning."

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