Brothers trapped under rubble for nearly 200 hours rescued after Turkey earthquake
Two brothers were among at least nine people miraculously rescued from quake rubble in Turkey on Tuesday — nearly 200 hours after massive tremors rocked the region, killing more than 41,000 people.
One of the siblings survived by drinking protein powder, while another survivor said he was playing video games when his building came down.
Hopeful rescue workers added that they can still hear the voices of other survivors stuck under collapsed buildings eight days after the disaster devastated Turkey and Syria.
Workers heard siblings Muhammed Enes Yeninar, 17, and Baki Yeninar, 21, from the ruins of an apartment building in Kahramanmaras — where the quakes were centered — and dug them out, according to the Andalou news agency.
Baki told rescuers that he survived by drinking nearby protein powder.
The brothers were among at least a half-dozen survivors pulled from the apartment block i
The brothers were among at least a half-dozen survivors pulled from the apartment block in Kahramanmaras province Tuesday. Other survivors including a Syrian man and young woman in a leopard-print headscarf were discovered in Antakya, and saved after spending 200 hours stuck under rubble.
Footage shared by Turkey’s Gendarmerie General Command showed rescuers scouring through what was left in Kahramanmaras, the Turkish city closest to the epicenter of the magnitude-7.8 earthquake.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged there were issues in the country’s initial response to the quake during a televised speech in Ankara on Tuesday.
“We are facing one of the greatest natural disasters not only in our country but also in the history of humanity,” Erdogan said, later adding that more than 8,000 people have been rescued alive in the wake of the disaster.
Another young man, Muhammed Cafer Cetin, 18, was rescued in the Adiyaman province 198 hours after the quakes.
Cetin told rescuers he had been playing video games when his building collapsed.
“While we were scooping the debris under out feet with an excavator, a hole opened over there, and suddenly, we heard a voice saying, ‘I’m here,’ ” recalled worker Miner Ilyas Gunes, noting that he and other rescuers were thinking about the layout of homes while searching for survivors.
After Cetin was rescued, he asked for a hot meal and water, Gunes said.
“We’re very happy right now,” Gunes said. “This has given us a wonderful, wonderful happiness after seven or eight days, and now our exhaustion is gone.”
But UN authorities say the rescue phase of their operation is coming to an end as hopes dwindle for more survivors. The agency said officials are switching to focus on finding shelter, food and schooling for survivors. The Syrian Civil Defense Force, or White Helmets, also said its group’s search efforts were slowing down.
Strong aftershocks, including one measuring a magnitude of 6.7, shook the region about 10 minutes after the initial quake. A second earthquake of magnitude 7.5 then stunned the area, adding additional destruction to the devastation.
The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria has climbed past 41,000 with 35,3418 deaths reported in Turkey and more than 5,814 in Syria. The toll is expected to continue to rise.
The World Health Organization’s director for Europe, which includes Turkey, called the string of earthquakes the “worst natural disaster” to hit the region in 100 years.
“We are witnessing the worst natural disaster in the WHO European region for a century, and we are still learning about its magnitude,” Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said during a news conference.
Kluge noted there are about 26 million people across both Syria and Turkey in need of humanitarian assistance.
“There are also growing concerns over emerging health issues linked to the cold weather, hygiene and sanitation and the spread of infectious diseases — with vulnerable people especially at risk,” the official said.
A report published by the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation put the cost of the damage at $84.1 billion — $70.8 billion from the repair of thousands of homes, $10.4 billion from loss of national income and $2.9 billion from loss of working days.
With Post wires
