NEWBURGH, N.Y. >> Two boys who had gone out to build a snow fort were inadvertently trapped for several hours in a Newburgh, New York, snow bank when a plow operator clearing a parking lot pushed snow over them, not realizing they were there, officials said.

The 11-year-old and 9-year-old children were taken to the hospital. Officials said one child was hospitalized for observation.

Authorities said the boys’ parents became alarmed when they didn’t come home from playing, and after a fruitless search called police around 11:50 p.m. Wednesday.

Officials searching a snow bank at a health center nearby found the boys around 2 a.m. Thursday, after an officer saw a shovel half buried. The officer took the shovel and started to dig, and saw a small boot. Others joined in, some digging with bare hands, and the boys were found.

They were conscious and suffering from exposure. Authorities said a snow plow operator had been clearing a parking lot by pushing snow over, and didn’t see the boys on the other side of the pile. The city had received more than a half-foot of snow.

Newburgh is about 60 miles north of New York City.