Turkey finds new survivor nearly 12 days after deadly earthquake

Saturday Feb 18 2023

ANTAKYA: Turkish heroes pulled a 45-year-old man from the rubble on Friday, nearly 12 days after a stunning tremor claimed a huge toll.

The groups had been finding survivors all week, despite being stuck under the rubble for so long in the frigid climate, even though their numbers had dwindled to a meager pile in the past few days.

The man, Hakan Yasinoglu, was rescued 278 hours after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck hard-hit Hatay, a southern territory close to the Syrian line.

Images via online entertainment showed the heroes carefully carrying a baby cot with a man over the remains of the collapsed structure.

It was attached to the cot to prevent it from falling and covered with a glowing warm coat.

He was immediately placed in an ambulance and hauled away.

His face remained invisible, and unlike other late-night rescues where groups celebrated or praised, the mind on the ground seemed serious.

Three others were protected late Thursday and early Friday, including a 14-year-old child, with the hunt continuing around the clock in certain locations.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Friday that relief efforts were continuing in less than 200 places in the area.

The tremors have killed more than 41,000 people in Turkey and Syria, injured huge numbers of others and left millions without shelter in freezing temperatures.

The earthquake hit 11 areas in Turkey. Turkish authorities said rescue operations in three areas, Adana, Kilis and Sanliurfa, had been completed.