A three-year-old boy who spent 72 hours in a Siberian forest after getting lost has been rescued.

The Emergencies Ministry said the boy, from the village of Khut in the Tuva region in southern Siberia, went missing on Sunday.

A helicopter and about 100 rescuers participated in the search, about 125 miles north of the Russian border with Mongolia.

The boy was found early on Wednesday about two miles from the village, when he answered his uncle, who was involved in the search and calling for him. The ministry said the boy was in a satisfactory condition.

Russian news reports said the boy went into the woods, known as the taiga, to follow a puppy when his grandmother got distracted. He only had a chocolate bar with him.

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