Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Colombian family recounts 'miracle' baby's landslide survival
By Juanes RESTREPO, Ra�l ARBOLEDA
Salgar, Colombia (AFP) May 21, 2015


Jhoset was asleep in his crib when the wall of mud washed over La Margarita, sweeping away everything in its path, killing his mother and leaving the 11 month old an orphan.

Somehow he survived the landslide which killed at least 84 people when the Liboriana River burst its banks early Monday and virtually obliterated the northwest Colombian town.

A rescue worker found him the next morning lying in the mud a kilometer (more than half a mile) away, banged and bruised but very much alive.

"The river pulled him to a flat bank where there was some sludge and a man saw him there. He was flailing, even crawling with his little body, on his little stomach, and I think that's how they found him, face-down and struggling to get out," said Natalia Rincon, his cousin.

Jhoset and his mother had traveled from the nearby municipality of Andes for a family reunion in Salgar, the municipality where La Margarita is located.

The landslide took a devastating toll on the family, for whom Jhoset's survival is the lone source of hope amid unimaginable devastation, said Rincon.

"It's more than a miracle. We're missing 15 relatives and amidst it all there's the miracle of the boy found alive. Just think what a big miracle that is," she told AFP.

Reports said Jhoset was unconscious when he reached medics four hours after the landslide, with lacerations on his whole body, bruised lungs and a fractured rib -- but still breathing.

Relatives found him in a hospital in Medellin, the regional capital 100 kilometers away, which is helping deal with the enormous influx of dead and wounded.

"We found him because we went to the hospital to see if any of our family members were there. When we went in he was on a little stretcher. We recognized him right away. He just had a little bruise on his ribs and he was very cold," said Rincon.

Doctors say Jhoset is recovering well and does not have brain damage.

"He was clinging so tightly to life that all he does now is laugh and eat. When he sees his grandpa he's happy, when he sees his aunt he's happy. I think he laughs all the time," said Rincon.

The family has so far found 10 relatives' bodies, she said. Five more are still missing, but hope of finding them alive is slim.

Jhoset's mother was among the victims. His father had died soon after his birth.

Rincon described Jhoset as a joyful, affectionate boy.

He appears happy and smiling in the picture the family picked for the invitation to his first birthday party on June 14, which shows him wearing a chef's hat, covered in flour and looking pleased with the cake in front of him.

He is expected to be home from the hospital in time for his birthday. His family is looking forward to having something to celebrate.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Shunned by much of Asia, migrants welcomed in Aceh
Langsa, Indonesia (AFP) May 20, 2015
From rescuing migrants at sea to donating all they can, residents of Indonesia's Islamic Aceh province are warmly welcoming hundreds of desperate fellow Muslims who have fled their homelands - a contrast to the rejection they face elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Around 1,800 Rohingya and Bangladeshi boatpeople have landed in Aceh in recent days, abandoned by people-smugglers after their boat ... read more


DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Shunned by much of Asia, migrants welcomed in Aceh

Colombian family recounts 'miracle' baby's landslide survival

Servosila Introduces a Disaster Response Robot "Engineer"

Students develop mobile hybrid power system for disaster relief

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Printing 3-D graphene structures for tissue engineering

Tunable liquid metal antennas

Seashell strength inspires stress tests

Nanomaterials inspired by bird feathers turn light into color

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Revealing the ocean's hidden fertilizer

Study reveals how rivers regulate global carbon cycle

Europe's bathing waters cleaner, says Brussels

Scientists discover tiny microbes with potential to cleanse waterways

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Antarctic ice shelf is thinning from above and below

It's the Final Act for Larsen B Ice Shelf, NASA Finds

Carbon emissions from peatlands may be less than expected

NASA Airborne Mission to Focus on Polar Winds

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Bodyguards for precious seeds

Climate change boosts a migratory insect pest

Rubber plantation brings both work and worries to Gabon

France moves to ban food waste in supermarkets

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
New trigger for volcanic eruptions discovered using jelly and lasers

Study attributes varying explosivity to gaseous state within volcanic conduits

Study proposes common mechanism for shallow and deep earthquakes

New national database of coastal flooding launched

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
New Burundi defence minister demands army 'cohesion' after coup bid

South Sudan army seizes key rebel enclave: minister

S.Sudan army advances as UN warns over 650,000 at risk

Mali government signs peace deal in absence of rebels

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Social grooming can promote the spread of disease among monkeys

'Natural' sounds improve mood and productivity

Why modern hunter-gatherers live with so few kin

Burmese long-tailed macaque stone-tool use catalogued




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.