Volunteers rush to rescue Torah scrolls buried in rubble after synagogue burns down

Volunteers rushed to rescue three sacred Torah scrolls buried beneath the rubble of a destroyed synagogue after it burned down in upstate New York.

Members of a volunteer safety patrol ran into the charred building to dig out a safe containing the holy texts after Rockland County firefighters put out the flames.

A fire engulfed the Chassidim of the Heights temple on Wednesday 17 April.

The group spent more than an hour working to free the safe, cutting it with a buzzsaw and prying it open with crowbars to reach the holy scrolls and secure them.

Two of the three scrolls suffered severe damage as a result of the blaze and the efforts to put it out.

Authorities have not said what sparked the synagogue blaze, but confirmed there were no injuries.