By Sylvia Jost and Kevin Hildebrand
The number of earthquake victims in the Turkish-Syrian border region continues to rise and is already more than 30,000. Thousands continue to be missing. The rescue workers on site work tirelessly around the clock, always in search of a miracle. And one such thing happened on Saturday!
Workers managed to recover a two-month-old baby from piles of rubble in Iskenderun Township.
Bystanders clapped and cheered loudly as rescuers pulled the tiny body out of the rubble. There the baby had fought for its survival for 128 hours before it was found.
A snapshot that is just as moving as it gives hope. While the ambulance sirens wail in the background, the baby stares wide-eyed into the faces of its rescuers. They inspect the toddler for external damage.
But at first glance there are no injuries to be seen. Indeed a miracle…
As the Turkish news agency “Anadolu” announced on Saturday, the baby was taken to a nearby hospital.
Recent footage from the social network Twitter shows the infant on Sunday morning looking happily into a camera and making happy squeaking noises.
These small children were also rescued after six days
These are images that show how important the deployment of the rescue workers involved in the earthquake region is.
Almost 50 kilometers south of Iskenderun, in the province of Hatay, local rescue workers found little Hamza. The seven-month-old baby was bleeding from the cheek after sharp boulders had cut open his skin.
The colorful clothes that the little boy is wearing have been badly damaged by the events of the past 139 hours. Sweater and pants are dirty and torn, the baby is not wearing shoes. And yet: He survived!
Little Hamza endured 139 hours in mountains of rubble
Photo: Reuters
Videos posted on social media show Hamza lying in the arms of the men who saved his life. He was also taken away by ambulance for further searches.
What these two fates have in common: Both babies were found alone, there is still no trace of the parents…
The rescue of the three-year-old girl Amira Amir went differently. She was rescued from a collapsed building in Hatay with her father Adnan Amir.
Father and daughter had to endure 140 hours in the rubble, fighting to survive before they were finally redeemed on Saturday.