Boy Rescued After 9 Hours Between Boulders

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 pried out of the boulders in Windsor about 3:15am. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation and released, according to the Wediko School, where the boy is a student. "On Sunday evening, 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, a residential treatment center for boys, said in a statement Monday, per the AP.

"Despite multiple staff members' efforts to free the student, they were unsuccessful and promptly called local emergency rescue services," the statement said. "Emergency responders worked tirelessly through the night, successfully rescuing the student in the early morning." Firefighters got a call to respond shortly before 6pm Sunday, where they found the boy "lodged between the crevasse" in a large boulder, Hillsborough Fire Chief Kenny Stafford said. They used ropes and a lubricant to rescue the child, he said.

First responders from at least five other communities, as well as the state police and Fish and Game Department, assisted with the rescue. Manchester Fire Department Captain Adam Iverson said the boy was conscious and alert when rescuers found him 4 to 5 feet down, the New Hampshire Union-Leader reports. The Wediko School describes itself as a center for "middle and high school aged boys experiencing significant social-emotional, behavioral, and educational challenges." In a statement, it said it was "deeply grateful to our staff for their swift, professional response, and to the local emergency teams for bringing the student to safety," reports CBS News. (More rescue stories.)