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Manitoba teen braves snowstorm to get help for stranded bus

Alexi Catellier, 13, is being hailed a hero.

The Manitoba teen braved a snowstorm to get help after the bus he was riding became stuck in the snow on the side of a rural road near Sandilands, about 100 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.

CBC News reports that the bus, carrying 29 students ranging in age from 5 to 13, was stuck for about 5 and a half hours on October 4.

"At one point, most of the kids had cried themselves to sleep because they were hungry, they tired, they were thirsty, wanting their parents," said Catellier, the oldest student on the bus. Catellier told CBC News that he and another student melted snow in empty bottles to keep the students hydrated.

The more the bus driver attempted to dig the bus' wheels out of the snow, the deeper into the snow they sank.

Around 8 p.m., five hours after the students had been picked up from school, Catellier decided to head out on foot and seek help. He encountered a man who contacted nearby CN Rail workers.

Catellier went back to the bus and helped escort some of the young children to a nearby home so they could use the washroom and warm up.

Not long after, the CN Rail workers arrived and pulled the bus out of the snow. The bus was back en route by 9 p.m. All of the students were home before midnight.

Catellier's mom, Tatiana, told CBC News that she's proud of her son. Still, she's hoping for a review by the school division of what happened.