Miracles Amid Devastation: Rescued Infants and Children Provide Hope After Major Turkey-Syria Earthquake
This week, a major earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, killing over 21,000 and leaving thousands injured.[0] Amid the devastation, however, miracles have been occurring, as rescue workers have been able to pull out children and infants as young as two months old from the rubble of collapsed buildings.[1]
One such miracle was that of a 17-year-old boy who was trapped under rubble for 94 hours before being rescued. Speaking via FaceTime from his hospital bed in Gaziantep, Turkey, Adnan Muhammet Korkut told ABC News that he resorted to drinking his own urine and “ate his family's flowers” to survive. He also said that he had set his phone's alarm to go off every 25 minutes to keep him from falling asleep.[2]
The two-month-old baby who was rescued from the rubble in southern Turkey was immediately taken to the hospital for medical checks.[1] Additionally, a seven-month old infant was pulled out of a collapsed building in Hatya province 66 hours after the quakes hit.
The plight of those affected by the earthquake has been made even more difficult by the weather and the fact that the Syrian government considers bringing aid to opposition-held areas a violation of its sovereignty. Even before the earthquake, the United Nations said 4.1 million people were in need of humanitarian aid.[3]
It is a heartbreaking situation, and yet the miraculous rescue of these infants and children is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
0. “Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Teenager Drank Urine To Survive Under Debris For 94 Hours” NDTV, 11 Feb. 2023, https://www.ndtv.com/feature/turkey-syria-earthquake-teenager-drank-urine-to-survive-under-debris-for-94-hours-3773235
1. “Turkey quake aftermath: Miracle rescue saves 2-month-old baby after 128 hours in debris” WION, 11 Feb. 2023, https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-quake-aftermath-miracle-rescue-saves-2-month-old-baby-after-128-hours-in-debris-560961
2. “17-year-old drank urine to survive 94 hours trapped in rubble of Turkey quake” ABC News, 10 Feb. 2023, https://abcnews.go.com/International/17-year-spent-94-hours-trapped-rubble-drank/story?id=97034949
3. “Northern Syria, already ravaged by war, is unable to receive aid after the earthquake” NPR, 11 Feb. 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/02/11/1156305956/earthquake-survivors-in-northern-syria-already-ravaged-by-war-are-unable-to-rece
