Man and child buried by air strike pulled from rubble alive

A man and child buried alive in the rubble of a pulverised building have been pulled out after a Syrian government air strike that killed five.

The bombing occurred on Sunday in the town of Saqba, near the capital Damascus, Haaretz reports.

A video of the rescue posted on social media shows frantic volunteers shouting "Allahu akbar" as they use their hands to dig the pair out.

The boy is the first to get his head above the sand-like debris and coughs up dust as workers dig around him in a frenzy.

Seconds later the head of a man emerges, who uses his one arm above the surface to try and shovel the debris away from his face.

Five people were reportedly killed in the air strikes that the pair were lucky to survive.

Three others were killed in Hamuriyeh and five civilians were killed by shelling in the rebel-held town of Douma.

The four-year-old conflict has so far claimed more than 240,000 lives and created millions of refugees both within Syria's borders and in neighbouring countries.