AN Indian boy who was rescued from the rubble of his earthquake-devastated home by an Okehampton team has returned to the UK for more treatment.
Twelve-year-old Parth Joshi, was rescued from the rubble of a building when the state of Gujarat in India was hit by an earthquake two years ago.
Okehampton-based Rapid UK rescue team pulled Parth from the rubble of a collapsed block of flats in his home town of Bhuji, where he had been lying trapped for three days next to his dead mother and brother. One of Parth?s legs was so badly crushed it had to be amputated.
Rapid UK launched an appeal and managed to get Parth back to the UK to be fitted with an artificial limb, and have helped raise £15,000 to continue helping to treat Parth.
Now Parth has returned to the Ortho Europe centre in Abbingdon, Oxfordshire, where he has been receiving treatment in preparation for the fitting of a new artificial leg.
Parth has been accompanied on his trip to the UK by his father, Predeep. They are due to fly back to India on June 3.
After Parth?s treatment it is hoped he will be able to visit the West Country for a reunion with members of the Rapid UK team at the end of this month.
The team plan to take cricket-mad Parth to watch a county match between Somerset and Surrey and take him on a boat ride at Roadford Lake.
Rapid UK director Graham Payne said Parth was doing remarkably well: ?He?s grown, and as he is growing he needs a new artificial limb.
?He has a slight problem with his artificial limb, but the doctors think they can overcome the problem.?
It took 12 hours for the Rapid UK team to rescue Parth when he was trapped in the rubble and the team had formed a close bond with him.
?We got so attached to him. He is such a brave little kid,? Graham added.
However, funds are still needed to help meet the costs of bringing Parth to Britain for treatment.
?It cost us more than £1,000 to fly him here, and he will have to keep coming back each year until he is eighteen,? said Graham.
Graham said the Rapid UK rescue model could also be exported to India to help if such horrific earthquakes struck the country again. He said he had recently received an e-mail from a doctor in Delhi asking to join Rapid UK.
However, Graham said the group decided instead to look into the possibility of setting up a Rapid India rescue team, trained by Rapid UK members, who could respond to emergencies far quicker than a group based outside India.
Anyone who would like to help the appeal towards Parth?s medical costs is asked to contact Rapid UK on 01837 851443.