Boy survives two nights lost in forest with bears and wolves
A three-year-old boy has been miraculously found alive after two nights lost in a forest where bears, wolves and lynx all roam.
Kolya Barkhatov went missing as his family were picking berries in the Omsk region of Russia.
The toddler has been dubbed “miracle boy” in his homeland after he lost his boots and hat during his ordeal, surviving off water from a bog.
He was found asleep by rescuers that were part of a 700-strong search operation including helicopters, search dogs and horses.
The child was dehydrated but able to talk to rescuers and eat after he was found.
Kolya got bored of picking berries with his parents and two siblings and asked to go back to the family car while his family continued looking for wild fruit.
When the group returned 15 minutes later there was no sign of the boy.
There were fears Kolya had been kidnapped and an 129 square-kilometre search was launched.
In fact he had wandered off into the dense forest, home to dangerous wild animals, with night time temperatures plummeting to around five celsius.
He was eventually found less than one and a half kilometres from the place he went missing and had been walking in circles trying to escape.
“We were picking berries, he was with me all the time,” his father Stepan Barkhatov said.
Kolya was on his own in the wild for more than 40 hours, including two full nights.
“Because of extreme dehydration intravenous therapy was started while the boy was transported to hospital,” a health ministry spokesman said.
Social media hailed the boy as a “miracle survivor” as he remains in intensive care for checks and psychological help.
Australscope
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