Filipino boy survives deadly landslide by hiding in fridge

2022-04-21 11:21:21 By : Mr. Peter Wang

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This redefined “staying cool under pressure.”

A resourceful Filipino boy incredibly survived a landslide by taking refuge in a refrigerator for a whole day in what authorities are calling an “absolute miracle.” A video of his unconventional life preserver is currently blowing up online.

The 11-year-old youth, named CJ Jasme, had been at home with his family when a massive mudslide triggered by tropical storm Megi inundated their house in Baybay City, Philippines, on Friday, Viral Press reported.

With the debris encroaching on his home, the quick-thinking Jasme hopped in the family refrigerator a la Indiana Jones escaping a nuclear explosion in “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

He then spent the next 20 hours hunkered down inside his improvised storm shelter.

Salvation finally came after police officer Jonas Etis spotted the refrigerator refugee on a river bank, whereupon he sent out an SOS — as another wave of rocks was inbound.

Rescue crews subsequently arrived and evacuated the survivor. Accompanying footage shows the first responders hoisting the ice box-bound boy out of the mud like a coffin, and then transferring him onto a makeshift stretcher.

Rescuers said the first words the child spoke to them were, “I’m hungry.”

Miraculously, Jasme was still conscious and only suffered a broken leg during the ordeal.

The boy was subsequently administered first aid and ferried to the hospital, where he underwent an operation for his broken leg. He is currently in stable condition.

Alas, the youngster’s family wasn’t as lucky: Jasme’s mother and younger sibling are still missing, while his father perished in another landslide that had ravaged the community a day prior. Fortunately, his 13-year-old brother is believed to have escaped the disaster as well.

Jasme is one of many children who were orphaned following the storm, which reportedly killed at least 172 people and displaced more than two million.

Meanwhile, nearly 200 villagers were reported injured in Baybay alone over the weekend and early Monday, officials said. Army, police and other rescuers were struggling with mud and unstable heaps of earth and debris to find the missing people.

The village’s mayor, Jose Carlos Cari, said the weather cleared Wednesday, allowing the search and rescue work to go full force.

“We’re looking for so many more missing people,” Cari said, adding that authorities would do a recount to determine how many villagers were really missing and believed buried in the landslides.

“We are saddened by this dreadful incident that caused an unfortunate loss of lives and destruction of properties,” said army brigade commander Col. Noel Vestuir, who was helping oversee the search and rescue.