Child trapped between boulders for 9 hours rescued by firefighters in New Hampshire

CONCORD, N.H. -- 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 at about 3:15 a.m. 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.

“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 6 p.m. 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 in Windsor, in southern New Hampshire.

Capt. Adam Iverson of the Manchester Fire Department told WMUR-TV that rescuers had to tunnel from the side using jackhammers, saws and shovels to create some space underneath the boy to free up his legs. They also used dish soap and thin pieces of plastic to help reduce the friction.

"Once that was done, the guys on top and from below were able to lift him up and out,” Iverson said.