Turkish rescuers on Thursday rescued a 17-year-old girl from the rubble of a building that collapsed as a result of the February 6 earthquake. The young woman has been found 11 days after a natural disaster that destroyed entire cities and killed nearly 40,000 people in southeastern Turkey and Syria.
Alena’s uncle Olmez (center) reacts to the rescue of a teenager. – Photo: Ozan Kose/AFP/Reproduction/NDAleyna Olmez was rescued at a time when the chances of finding survivors are considered minimal.
“She seemed to be fine. He opened and closed his eyes,” Ali Akdogan, a rescue volunteer in Kahramanmaras, a town near the epicenter of the quake, told AFP.
Volunteers were working in the building where the girl was rescued a week ago and were hoping to find something. “We celebrate when we find something alive, even if it’s a cat,” Akdogan said.
Without holding back tears, the teenager’s uncle hugged all the rescuers in turn and said: “We will never forget you.”
Shortly after the rescue, the Turkish military asked journalists and residents to evacuate as rescuers began pulling bodies out of the rubble.
A member of the rescue team stands in front of the rubble from which 17-year-old Aleyna Olmez was rescued. – Photo: Ozan Kose/AFP/Reproduction/NDCatastrophe
According to the latest figures released by authorities and medical sources, at least 36,187 people died in Turkey and 3,688 people in Syria as a result of the February 6 earthquake and aftershocks.
The total number of confirmed deaths reaches 39,875 people.
Turkey has suspended rescue work in some regions. The same measure was taken by the government of Syria, a country at war, in the regions under its control.
Source: Ndmais