Two teens are found deep inside collapsed buildings EIGHT DAYS after earthquake as Turkish rescuers continue to find victims alive – but window for finding survivors is closing as death toll passes 35,000
- Muhammed Cafer Cetin, 18, was extracted from rubble in southeastern Turkey
- Two brothers were pulled alive from the ruins of a building in Kahramanmaras
Rescuers today found two teens buried deep beneath the rubble eight days on from the devastating earthquakes that hit regions of Turkey and Syria last week.
The miraculous moment saw Muhammed Cafer Cetin, 18, extracted from the debris in Turkey’s southeastern Adiyaman province after more than a week lying under a collapsed building.
A short while earlier, rescue workers pulled two brothers alive from the ruins of an apartment block in neighbouring Kahramanmaras province.
State-owned Anadolu news agency identified them as 17-year-old Muhammed Enes Yeninar and his brother, 21-year-old Baki Yeninar, who was rescued after him. They were both placed in ambulances and taken to hospital but their condition was unclear.
The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 quakes that struck nine hours apart on February 6 in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria has now passed 35,000, with it certain to increase as search teams discover more bodies.
An 18-year-old teenager, Muhammed Cafer Cetin is rescued by search and rescue teams from under rubble of a collapsed building 198 hours after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit Turkiye’s Adiyaman, February 14
The miraculous moment saw Muhammed Cafer Cetin, 18, extracted from the debris in Turkey’s southeastern Adiyaman province after more than a week lying under a collapsed building
An aerial photo taken by drone shows excavators at work among the rubble of collapsed buildings following a powerful earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, 14 February 2023
Turkish television continued broadcasting rescues on Tuesday, as experts said the window to find survivors is closing.
In Adiyaman province, 18-year-old Muhammed Cafer Cetin was given an IV with fluids before attempting the dangerous extraction.
As responders moved in, the building crumbled further as rescuers worked to save the teen.
Medics surrounded him to place a neck brace and he was on a stretcher with an oxygen mask, making it out to daylight on the 199th hour.
‘We are so happy,’ his uncle said.
Two brothers were rescued from one building that has been destroyed in central Kahramanmaras, near the epicentre, Tuesday some 198 hours after the quake.
The 17-year-old Muhammed Enes was seen wrapped in a thermal blanket as he was carried on a stretcher to an ambulance.
Dozens of rescuers were working at the site and Turkish soldiers hugged and clapped after their rescue.
Rescuers then asked for quiet to continue looking for others and shouted ‘can anyone hear me?’
The health conditions of the rescued were unclear.
17-year-old Muhammed Enes Yeninar and his 21-year-old brother Abdulbaki Yeninar (not seen) are rescued by search and rescue teams from under rubble of a collapsed building 198 hours after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit Turkey’s Kahramanmaras, on February 14, 2023
Both brothers were both placed in ambulances and taken to hospital but their condition was unclear
The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 quakes that struck nine hours apart on February 6 in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria has now passed 35,000
Search and rescue team personnel celebrate after rescuing 17-year-old Muhammed Enes Yeninar and his 21-year-old brother Abdulbaki Yeninar
Two brothers were rescued from one building that has been destroyed in central Kahramanmaras, near the epicentre, Tuesday some 198 hours after the quake
Medics surrounded him to place a neck brace and he was on a stretcher with an oxygen mask, making it out to daylight on the 199th hour
The 17-year-old Muhammed Enes was seen wrapped in a thermal blanket as he was carried on a stretcher to an ambulance
In extremely hard-hit Hatay, Sengul Abalioglu lost her old sister and four nephews.
‘It doesn’t matter if dead or alive, we just want our corpses so that they at least have a grave and we bury them,’ she said as she waited in front of the rubble where her family could be.
They said last time they heard voices from the building was yesterday and complained that they started to search recently.
Also they said they wanted to have international press as she worries that if we leave, the pressure will vanish and the search will disappear
In Syria, President Bashar Assad agreed to open two new crossing points from Turkey to the country’s rebel-held northwest to deliver desperately needed aid and equipment to millions of earthquake victims, the United Nations announced Monday.
The crossings at Bab Al-Salam and Al Raee will be opened for an initial period of three months.
Rescue workers pull two brothers alive from the ruins of an apartment block in Kahramanmaras province
Muhammed Cafer Cetin,18, was given an IV with fluids before rescuers attempted the dangerous extraction
A building is collapsed as another toppled on a standing apartment after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit multiple provinces of Turkiye including Hatay on February 14, 2023
Turkish relief agency AFAD rescuers search the rubble of collapsed building in Islahiye, near Gaziantep, on February 13, 2023
Men walk amid the rubble in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey February 14, 2023
Until now, the UN has only been allowed to deliver aid to the Idlib area through a single crossing at Bab Al-Hawa.
The United Nations has been under intense pressure to get more aid and heavy equipment into Syria’s rebel-held northwest since the earthquake struck a week ago, with survivors lacking the means to dig for other survivors and the death toll mounting.
The first Saudi aid plane, carrying 35 tons of food, landed in government-held Aleppo airport Tuesday morning, according to Syrian state media.
Saudi Arabia has raised some 50 million US dollars in a public campaign to aid Turkey and Syria.
Prior to Tuesday, Saudi planes landed in Turkey, with some of the aid also making its way into impoverished rebel-held northwestern Syria.
Several other Arab countries have sent planes loaded with aid to government-held Syria, including Jordan and Egypt, the United Arab Emirates.
Algeria, Iraq, Oman, Tunisia, Sudan and Libya have also delivered aid to Damascus.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said late Monday rescue work continued in Hatay province, along with Kahramanmaras, the epicentre, and Adiyaman
Dozens of rescuers were working at the site and Turkish soldiers hugged and clapped after their rescue
Rescuers are filmed as they continue to recover victims of the devastating quakes
Many in Turkey blame faulty construction for the vast devastation, and authorities continued targeting contractors allegedly linked with buildings that collapsed
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said late Monday rescue work continued in Hatay province, along with Kahramanmaras, the epicentre, and Adiyaman.
Rescue work appears to have ended in the remaining seven provinces.
The quake affected 10 provinces in Turkey that are home to some 13.5 million people, as well as a large area in northwest Syria that is home to millions.
Quake survivors also face difficult conditions amid wrecked cities, with many sleeping outdoors in freezing weather.
Much of the region’s water system is not working, and damage to the system raises risks of contamination.
Turkey’s health minister said samples taken from dozens of points of the water system were ‘microbiologically unfit,’ which highlights how precarious basic needs continue to be.
More than 41,500 buildings were destroyed or so damaged that they would have to be demolished, the Minister of Environment and Urbanisation.
There are bodies under those buildings and the number of missing remain unclear.
Search and rescue team members work at the site of a collapsed building in the aftermath of a powerful earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 14, 2023
People stand in the rubble of collapsed buildings in Hatay on February 13, 2023
17-year-old Muhammed Enes Yeninar and his 21-year-old brother Abdulbaki Yeninar (not seen) are rescued by search and rescue teams from under rubble of a collapsed building 198 hours after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit Turkey’s Kahramanmaras, on February 14, 2023
An aerial photo taken by drone shows excavators at work among the rubble of collapsed buildings following a powerful earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 14, 2023
Rescue workers clear rubble from collapsed houses in Sarmada, Syria, on the border crossing with Turkey, Sunday, February 12, 2023
Many in Turkey blame faulty construction for the vast devastation, and authorities continued targeting contractors allegedly linked with buildings that collapsed.
Turkey has introduced construction codes that meet earthquake-engineering standards, but experts say the codes are rarely enforced.
The death toll in Turkey stood at 31,643 as of Monday.
Officials have decreased the frequency of death toll updates since the first week of the response, now releasing larger updates once or twice a day.
The toll in the northwestern rebel-held region has reached 2,166, according to the rescue group the White Helmets, while 1,414 people have died in government-held areas, according to the Syrian Health Ministry in Damascus.
The overall death toll in Syria stands at 3,580.
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