Luck was not on the side of search and rescue crews in the aftermath of the earthquake in Türkiye amid freezing weather and the scale of devastation, but victims miraculously emerged alive from heaps of concrete within the rubble in several cities hit by tremors
The rescue operations after one of the deadliest earthquakes in modern Turkish history continue at full pace, with dozens of thousands of medical and disaster coordination teams dispatched in the southeastern provinces of Hatay, Şanlıurfa, Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman and Malatya.
Two earthquakes that rocked Türkiye Monday at 4:17 a.m. and 1:24 p.m. local time left 3,381 dead, and 20,426 injured while the number of collapsed buildings stood at 5,775 Tuesday morning. The Turkish Disaster and Management Authority (AFAD) General Directorate noted the reports of collapsed buildings stand at 11,302, adding that the number could climb, as rescue operations are underway.
Despite the unfavorable weather conditions in the region, search and rescue efforts continued throughout the night intensively, with several people being rescued from the wreckage.
Woman rescued 27 hours later
Rümeysa Yalçınkaya, 24, was rescued 27 hours after the earthquake from the wreckage of the seven-story "Anadolu" apartment building in Kahramanmaraş. Search and rescue work in the building began yesterday evening after screams were heard close to the apartment where many buildings were destroyed.
After about 11 hours of work, Rümeysa Yalçınkaya was rescued from the rubble 27 hours after the earthquake. Yalçınkaya, who is in good health, was referred to the hospital for control.
Another four citizens, a mother and her three children were taken out of the wreckage of a destroyed building in Gaziantep's Nizip district 28 hours later with injuries.
Döne Özkılıç and her children Abdulkadir, Beyza and Elif Özkılıç were taken to hospital by local health teams.
Infant clings to life after 22 hours
Three-year-old Miran Tekeş and 26-year-old Abdullah Uraz Sivas, who were stuck under the rubble of a five-story apartment building in the Çavuşoğlu district of Malatya city center, were rescued from the rubble 22 hours later by the firefighters.
Little Miran and Sivas were taken to Malatya Education and Research Hospital for treatment after the first intervention of the medical teams.
In many ongoing rescue operations in Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep, the rescue teams are working round the clock to save as many lives as possible.
Similarly, a person named Filiz Çoşar was saved from the rubble and was taken to the hospital approximately 20 hours after the nine-store building where she was staying in Adıyaman tumbled to the ground.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Aysun Yılmaz was rescued 29 hours later, from the wreckage of the six-story apartment in Gaziantep.