( CNN ) A photo of a baby boy being pulled from the rubble of the Nepal earthquake has become the defining image of a disaster that has devastated the country . His tiny face is coated in dust from the debris that crashed around him as the earth shook on Saturday , April 25 , killing more than 5,000 people and injuring at least twice as many more . His name is Sonit Awal , and he 's just four months old . On Saturday , Sonit was at home in Muldhoka , Bhaktapur , east of the capital Kathmandu , when the 7.8-magnitude quake sent tremors through Nepal and neighboring countries , according to Kathmandu Today . The house collapsed , burying the child , leaving his father Shyam Awal frantically searching for him amid the rubble . A desperate Awal called the Nepalese Army , and they too scrambled through the dirt and debris until midnight , before giving up hope and leaving . Sonit 's father had lost all hope of finding his son alive , the paper reported , until he heard faint cries from below . On Sunday morning , the soldiers returned and at 10 a.m they lifted Sonit clear of the fallen rocks , beams , bricks and dust that had trapped him for 22 hours . His rescuers held him high in their hands to the sun , though his eyes were still wedged tightly shut . Sonit 's face was exposed during the whole ordeal , though a hooded top and shawl protected his head and body during the cold night spent under rubble . The baby was taken to Bhaktapur Hospital and found to be uninjured ; . His unlikely rescue provides some hope to a country that has experienced so much loss .
Baby Sonit Awal found in rubble of Nepal earthquake , Sunday 22 hours . Spent morning buried under his home after 7.8-magnitude quake .