Rescue crews in Turkey have retrieved at least three individuals from the rubble 11 days after the earthquake struck the country. Hakan Yasinoglu had been trapped under a collapsed building in Hatay province for 278 hours before workers found him on Friday.
Osman Halebiye, a teen, and Mustafa Avci, 34, were also saved in Antakya.
“I had completely lost all hope. This is a true miracle,” Avci’s father told Reuters news agency.
“I thought nobody could be saved alive from there,” he added. Mr. Avci’s daughter was just a few hours old when the quake struck, and as he was loaded onto a stretcher by paramedics he was connected with his child via video call.
His wife, Bilge Avci, survived the wreckage of the earthquake with their child, but Avci was buried under the rubble, according to local media. Mr. and Mrs. Avci, as well as baby Almile, were reunited late Friday at a hospital in Mersin, Turkey’s southernmost city.
This is not the first time a miraculous rescue has been reported from earthquake-ravaged areas
This is not the first time a miraculous rescue has been reported from earthquake-ravaged areas. Previously, 128 hours after the disaster, a two-month-old baby was rescued from the rubble.
After being fed and cleansed, the infant offered one of the cutest smiles that have since gone viral on social media platforms. Aras, a five-year-old boy, was rescued from the debris of his home in Kahramanmaras last Monday, 105 hours after the earthquake.
Similarly, a young girl who had been stranded in the wreckage for 178 hours, or seven and a half days, was rescued by ground personnel. People cheered ‘God is Awesome’ as she was carried out of the rubble in video footage of her rescue.
Almost a fortnight ago, Turkey and Syria were rocked by one of the most devastating earthquakes in recent memory, killing nearly 44,000 people.
Many died in the middle of the night when buildings were leveled throughout the landscape. The rescue and rehabilitation efforts have been nonstop, but given the scope of the devastation, it may be months before a comprehensive picture of the final death toll emerges.
