Last Updated:

Turkey-Syria Earthquake Watch | A Young Girl Gets Rescued After Being Stuck In Rubble In Turkey For 150 Hours

The Turkish Health Minister, Dr Fahrettin Koca shared a shot clip on Twitter of the little child and asserted that she was rescued in the “150th hour".

Written By
Bhagyasree Sengupta
Turkey earthquake

Image: AP


As the death toll in the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquakes surpasses the 33,000 mark, rescue operations are still going strong. While hopes of finding a survivor slowly start to fade away, some of the extraordinary rescue stories are still keeping the candle burning. Among this was the story of a young girl, who miraculously got rescued after being stuck in the rubble for 150 hours. On Sunday, the Turkish Health Minister, Dr Fahrettin Koca shared a short clip on Twitter of the little child and asserted that she was rescued in the “150th hour”, in Hatay, Turkey. 

“The first medical intervention for our little girl, who was rescued from the rubble in the 150th hour, was performed in our Hatay Field Hospital. As a paediatrician, we oversaw the process. Our baby was sent to Adana by helicopter ambulance for treatment,” the Turkish Health Minister wrote on Twitter. In the footage shared by Koca, the girl can be seen getting medical help and then getting airlifted to Adana for proper treatment. The Turkish Health Minister was also seen present in the video, reassuring the young girl that she is in safe hands. As time goes by, the rescuers are struggling to find more survivors of the devastating earthquake. However, the stories of miraculous rescues are still keeping hopes alive in both middle eastern countries. In the Turkish city of Hatay, volunteers also managed to rescue a Syrian named Abdullah Elali. Elali was rescued from the rubble after 151 hours, The Guardian reported.  

Turkey detains building contractors as the death toll continues to rise 

The Turkish Justice officials issued arrest warrants for over 130 people, who were allegedly involved in the construction of buildings that eventually toppled in the catastrophic earthquakes. According to ABC News, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Sunday that the warrants have been issued for the arrest of 131 people and accused them of being responsible for such devastation. The Turkish authorities started with the detention of two people in the Gaziantep Province. The two were suspected of cutting down columns to make extra rooms in a building which eventually collapsed. While on paper, the Middle Eastern country does follow the construction codes to meet current earthquake-engineering standards, the implementation of such codes has been a matter of concern. Many believe that the magnanimity of the devastation could have been avoided, if the building contractors in 10 affected provinces, followed construction codes properly. 

First Published:
COMMENT