Man rescued 11 days after massive Turkey-Syria earthquake that killed 45,000
Images and videos on social media showed the rescuers carrying a stretcher with the man covered with a golden thermal jacket through the ruins of a flattened building.
- Feb 18, 2023,
- Updated Feb 18, 2023 8:55 AM IST
A devastating earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck Turkey and Syria, followed by three more powerful earthquakes leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The quake has now claimed the lives of an estimated 45,000 people and caused millions of dollars in damages. But amid the devastation, there were also moments of hope and resilience, as search and rescue teams worked tirelessly to save those trapped under the rubble.
One such moment occurred 278 hours after the 7.8-magnitude tremor hit Hatay, a southern province near the Syrian border. A team of rescuers pulled a man named Hakan Yasinoglu from the wreckage. Images and videos on social media showed the rescuers carrying a stretcher with the man covered with a golden thermal jacket through the ruins of a flattened building.
The man was immediately sent to a hospital in an ambulance and the rescue teams took a moment to rejoice and applaud.
Rescue teams have been finding survivors like Yasinoglu all week despite them being stuck for so long under the rubble in freezing cold weather conditions, although the number of survivors has dropped to just a handful in the past few days.
Earlier, Osman Halebiye, 14, and Mustafa Avci, 34, were saved in Turkey's historic city of Antakya, known in ancient times as Antioch. As Avci was carried away, he was put on a video call with his parents who showed him his newborn baby.
"I had completely lost all hope. This is a true miracle. They gave me my son back. I saw the wreckage and I thought nobody could be saved alive from there," his father said.
The death toll in Turkey now stands at 39,672, making it the worst disaster in modern Turkish history. But this number is expected to shoot up given some 264,000 apartments were lost in the quake and many people are still unaccounted for.
In neighbouring Syria, already shattered by more than a decade of civil war, authorities have reported more than 5,800 deaths. The toll has not changed for days.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay on Friday said rescue efforts continued at around 200 sites in the region.
A devastating earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck Turkey and Syria, followed by three more powerful earthquakes leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The quake has now claimed the lives of an estimated 45,000 people and caused millions of dollars in damages. But amid the devastation, there were also moments of hope and resilience, as search and rescue teams worked tirelessly to save those trapped under the rubble.
One such moment occurred 278 hours after the 7.8-magnitude tremor hit Hatay, a southern province near the Syrian border. A team of rescuers pulled a man named Hakan Yasinoglu from the wreckage. Images and videos on social media showed the rescuers carrying a stretcher with the man covered with a golden thermal jacket through the ruins of a flattened building.
The man was immediately sent to a hospital in an ambulance and the rescue teams took a moment to rejoice and applaud.
Rescue teams have been finding survivors like Yasinoglu all week despite them being stuck for so long under the rubble in freezing cold weather conditions, although the number of survivors has dropped to just a handful in the past few days.
Earlier, Osman Halebiye, 14, and Mustafa Avci, 34, were saved in Turkey's historic city of Antakya, known in ancient times as Antioch. As Avci was carried away, he was put on a video call with his parents who showed him his newborn baby.
"I had completely lost all hope. This is a true miracle. They gave me my son back. I saw the wreckage and I thought nobody could be saved alive from there," his father said.
The death toll in Turkey now stands at 39,672, making it the worst disaster in modern Turkish history. But this number is expected to shoot up given some 264,000 apartments were lost in the quake and many people are still unaccounted for.
In neighbouring Syria, already shattered by more than a decade of civil war, authorities have reported more than 5,800 deaths. The toll has not changed for days.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay on Friday said rescue efforts continued at around 200 sites in the region.