A RAPID boat ride was the 13th birthday present for an Indian boy pulled from the rubble of a devastating earthquake two years ago.
Parth Joshi, the young Indian boy pulled from the rubble of the earthquake in the Gujarat province by Okehampton-based Rapid UK rescue team, celebrated his 13th birthday last Thursday with a trip in a fast rescue boat at Roadford Lake, followed by a surprise birthday tea.
Parth was brought to Britain thanks to a local fund-raising appeal and was fitted with an artificial limb, following the loss of a leg in the disaster. He is in the UK for five weeks undergoing follow-up treatment.
Rapid UK?s boat crew took Parth for a ride around the lake where the team trains. The crew is deployed throughout the UK and worldwide to give help in flood disasters.
Joining Parth at his birthday tea was Nick Spence of Rapid UK Search and Rescue team.
Nick was one of the team who originally rescued Parth in India and has since developed a great friendship with the boy and his family.
Following the earthquake two years ago, Parth was trapped beneath a building for four days.
Rapid volunteers shifted tons of rubble in a 12-hour operation to free Parth. Nick Spence and John Miller eventually crawled into the tiny gap created to free him, in spite of the risk of further collapses caused by the severe aftershocks that continued throughout the operation.
South West Lakes Trust supports Rapid UK by allowing the crew to train on Roadford Lake, which normally excludes powerboats.