‘I’m cold, father’: Girl rescued in earthquake-hit Turkish city
Search and rescue crews work on the rubble, in Kahramanmaraş, southern Türkiye, Feb. 8, 2023. (IHA Photo)


A 5-year-old girl whose dramatic words while awaiting rescue moved search and rescue teams was pulled alive from the rubble 48 hours after a devastating earthquake hit her hometown Kahramanmaraş in southern Türkiye.

The girl, identified as Yağmur, was trapped in her home while her family was rescued earlier. Her father desperately watched as crews removed concrete blocks around her. "I am cold, father, My hands are all white," she was heard telling her father outside. Teams working at temperatures below zero raced around the clock to remove the debris. "They are opening a hole, Yağmur. They are almost near the couch," her father told her to comfort the girl trapped near it. "I want to go to my grandmother’s place," the girl said in response. The crew, including firefighters from Kocaeli province in the northwest, finally dug enough space to get her to safety. She was taken to a hospital and is in good health now.