13-Year-Old Boy Rescued After 229 Hours... A Miracle Survival Continues

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Ten days after a massive earthquake struck T?rkiye (Turkey) and Syria on the 6th (local time), miraculous survival stories continue to emerge.

According to local Turkish media on the 15th (local time), around 5 p.m., approximately 229 hours (9 days and 13 hours) after the earthquake, 13-year-old boy Mustafa was rescued at a search site in the southern Hatay Province. An hour earlier, at around 4 p.m., a woman named Ella and her two children were pulled from the rubble in Antakya, Hatay Province. The Dutch rescue team RHWW also reported rescuing three men and one child in Antakya.

Earlier that day, at around 10 a.m., a 42-year-old woman was rescued from building debris in southern Kahramanmara? after being trapped for about 222 hours. Local broadcasts showed the survivor being covered with a thermal blanket and carried on a stretcher to an ambulance. Around midnight, approximately 212 hours after the earthquake, a 77-year-old female survivor was rescued in southeastern Adıyaman.

The death toll from this earthquake has reportedly exceeded 41,000. The number of injured in T?rkiye alone is 105,505. About 2.2 million people have left the affected areas, with 1.6 million in emergency shelters and 600,000 having evacuated to other regions.

Since the earthquake occurred during the early morning hours, most people were unable to escape buildings, and the subsequent severe cold caused many trapped under debris to die before timely rescue.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Survivors are also suffering from cold, hunger, and concerns about infectious diseases. Looting has become rampant. In some areas, the focus has shifted from rescuing buried victims to supporting the survivors. Hans Kluge, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, stated, "The demand for relief is enormous and increasing," adding, "Approximately 2.6 million people require humanitarian assistance." He further noted, "Concerns about cold, sanitation, healthcare, and health issues are growing," and "Vulnerable groups face an even greater risk of infectious disease transmission."

Meanwhile, allegations have arisen that Turkish authorities demolished buildings before completing rescue operations for survivors trapped under debris. Spanish firefighters who participated in rescue efforts in the earthquake-affected areas reported that buildings were demolished after they returned home, even before rescue activities had fully concluded. They claimed that one building was demolished despite only 10 people being rescued and approximately 180 residents still trapped in the rubble.

On the day this report was released, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an stated, "We will continue rescue operations until the last citizen is saved from the collapsed buildings."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.