As Sham Krishna Awal began to believe he had lost his nearly five-month-old son in the earthquake disaster, a faint cry suddenly came from under the rubble, a magical sound that gave him strength and hope.

Baby Sonies, 5 months old, was rescued from the rubble by rescuers, 22 hours after the earthquake. Photo: CNN

Rasmila Awal was on her way home on April 25 when the ground shook violently. Moments later, Rasmila saw the building her family lived in collapse. Under the rubble, Rasmila knew her two children, Soniya, 10, and Sonies, 5 months old, were still trapped.

"I screamed, cried and begged for help from the neighbors," CNN quoted Rasmila as saying in an interview. Initially, no one thought the two children could survive, she added.

The devastation was immense. Rubble was strewn across the streets. The only clues to where someone had lived were the torn clothes and half-empty soda bottles left at the scene.

"I was speechless," Rasmila said. "I didn't know if my children were alive or dead."

Sham Krishna Awal, 34, a bus driver, was at work when the disaster struck. When he heard the news, he rushed home and frantically dug through the rubble to find his daughter. Neighbors also came to help. But Rasmila was losing hope.

"I had very little faith that my two children were alive," she said. "I didn't hear any sound at all."

But a miracle happened. After two hours, Soniya was found alive and well. However, Sonies was still missing.

The Awals even called in the army for help. The soldiers arrived at 4 p.m. They dug around but couldn’t find the baby. So they left five hours later.

As the father began to despair, he heard a faint cry coming from under the rubble. But it was late at night, and there was little he could do.

"It's destiny. If the boy is destined to live, he will live. If not, the gods will take him away," a neighbor told Rasmila.

The family decided to spend the night in a nearby vacant lot with many other homeless people.

The next morning, the Awal family returned and this time they heard the same magical sound: the baby's cry.

The army soldiers arrived and they continued digging. Twenty-two hours after the earthquake, the mother saw her son pulled from the rubble. His face was covered in dust, but he was still alive.

Sonines was taken to a nearby hospital. Doctors said he had some bruises and a laceration on his thigh but was in stable condition. He was eventually returned to his mother.

“At that moment, it smiled,” Rasmila recalled.

The photo of the moment Sonies was rescued from the rubble has become an iconic image, inspiring millions of Nepalis to continue to hold on to hope after experiencing so much loss.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal six days ago has so far killed more than 5,800 people and injured more than 13,000. According to the United Nations, the earthquake affected 8 million people. At least two million people need assistance with shelter, water, food and medicine over the next three months. About 600,000 homes have also been destroyed.

Sonies' miraculous survival inspires millions of Nepalis to continue to have hope after experiencing so much loss. Photo: Instagram

According to Vnexpress