Turkish rescuers pulled a 14-year-old boy and two men nearly 11 days after the huge earthquake, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a minister on Friday, as rescue efforts wind down.
Osman, 14, was rescued 260 hours after the 7.8-magnitude tremor struck Turkey’s southeast and Syria, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.
He shared an image of the adolescent with his eyes open on a stretcher and said Osman had been taken to hospital in Antakya in the quake-devastated Hatay province.
Hayat dolu haberler bu gece birbirini izliyor. Kardeşimiz Mehmet Ali, Hatay’da enkaz altından 261’inci saatte kurtarılan ikinci vatandaşımız. İlk tıbbi müdahalesi Sahra Hastanesinde yapıldı. Şu an Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesinde tedavi altında. pic.twitter.com/3WNgR8KkKW
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) February 17, 2023
Rescuers found Osman after hearing sounds in the rubble, Anadolu state news agency reported.
One hour later, rescuers elsewhere saved two men aged 26 and 33 in Antakya, Koca said, also sharing images of the men receiving treatment from health workers.
The DHA news agency named the men as Mehmet Ali Şakiroğlu, 26, and Mustafa Avcı, 33, and said they had been rescued from the same building’s rubble.
“I’m well, there are no issues,” Avcı says during a call to a loved one in a video shared by Koca.
The unseen man on the other end of the line breaks down before Avcı asks, “How are my mother and others?”.
“They’re all well, they’re waiting for you,” the man on the other end of the line shouts, as a small smile of relief appears on Avcı’s face.
The quake has killed more than 41,000 people in Turkey and Syria, injured tens of thousands of others and left millions without shelter in freezing temperatures.
The tremor struck 11 provinces in Turkey. Turkish officials have said rescue efforts in three provinces, Adana, Kilis and Sanliurfa, have been completed.