An infant was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building, 46 hours after Turkey earthquake struck
An infant was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building, 46 hours after Turkey earthquake struck
ADVERTISEMENT
Rescuers plucked a two-week-old baby girl from the rubble Tuesday 48 hours after a devastating earthquake killed at least 366 people in Turkey, energising the desperate search effort.
Amazing survival story: Baby Azrau00a0-- 14 days old, naked and trapped
in a collapsed building for 47 hoursu00a0-- is rushed to a waiting medical unit
in Ercis, Turkey. pic/afp
As the body bags piled up and the Red Crescent warned that hundreds or even thousands of people remained buried under the debris, the rescue of the infant named Azra sparked joy amid the otherwise grim task.
The rescue workers reached the baby after hours of frantic digging around her home in the worst-hit town of Ercis and were working to free the mother whose name was given as Semiha. The father was missing, rescuers said.
Emergency teams had earlier pulled a pregnant woman and her two children alive from the rubble in Ercis as they laboured through the night under search lights with the help of sniffer dogs.
"Hundreds, possibly thousands of people are still trapped under the rubble," said Jessica Sallabank, a spokeswoman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The IFRC said that 2,256 buildings were destroyed during the quake. An update from the prime minister's office put the death toll at 366, adding that more than 1,300 people had been injured.
Residents meanwhile spent a second night outside in freezing temperatures.
"I am still trembling.... As long as those aftershocks go on, we will stay in the street," Gulizar, a Kurdish woman in her 40s, said as she tried to keep warm in front of a makeshift fire.
"Our house was badly damaged. We will live like this maybe for one or two weeks," said Zuleyha, who was staying in her car with her husband and five-year-old son.
"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels 
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
