British volunteer rescue workers completed the miraculous rescue of a mother and her young son from the rubble of their home in Turkey after they were unable to move for 68 hours.
Serap Topal (33) and her five-year-old son Mehmet Hamza Topal were trapped when their house in Kahramanmaras collapsed around them in a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake earlier this week.
Kahramanmaras was just a few kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake, which devastated large parts of southeastern Turkey and northern Syria and killed more than 19,000 people, with the death toll expected to rise sharply.
Serap and Mehmet spent most of the three days in pitch black darkness, covered in dust and debris, with Serap sustaining injuries.
But they were saved from almost certain death by workers from SARAID, a group of British volunteers, and the German unit At Fire – both UN-class urban search and rescue teams.
Serap Topal broke down in tears when she was pulled from the rubble by British, German and Turkish rescuers in Kahramanmaras earlier this morning.
A rescue worker looks up to the sky with excitement and joy after rescuing Mehmet Hamza Topal from the rubble of his collapsed home
Serap was carefully strapped to a stretcher that stabilized the spinal cord after sustaining injuries during the disaster
British rescuers in Orange hold Serap as they carefully pull her out of the hole in the rubble
Even as the death toll reaches 19,000, incredible earthquake survival stories emerge from Turkey and Syria – READ MORE
Stunning footage of the moment they were rescued showed Serap breaking down in tears as she was overcome with fatigue and relief, while a volunteer looked skywards in utter excitement as he carried an apparently unharmed Mehmet from the rubble.
Heartbreaking images of Serap, unable to hold back a flood of tears as her rescuers carefully lifted her from the rubble and secured her on a stretcher, underscore the fear experienced by tens of thousands of Turks and Syrians.
The sheer joy on the face of the rescuer holding the five-year-old boy perfectly summed up the hope of families, friends and rescuers that they will rescue more survivors from the darkness.
But that hope faded on Thursday as the death toll topped 19,000 and those trapped under concrete slabs and twisted metal sheets have now spent more than 72 hours without food, water or, in some cases, oxygen.
Most experts believe the three-day limit will save lives, and the harsh winter weather combined with the sheer extent of the damage has severely hampered rescue efforts.
A 33-year-old mother, Serap Topal, and her 5-year-old son, Mehmet Hamza Topal, are rescued from the rubble by German and British rescue workers after 68 hours after the 7.7 earthquake in Kahramanmara, Turkey on February 9. 2023
This is the small hole in the rubble from which rescuers were able to free Serap and her son
Rescuers search for survivors in the rebel-held town of Harim in northwestern Syria
The seven-year-old girl, Ikra Tasci, is rescued by the Israeli army, Hatzalah United and Turkish rescue teams on February 9, 2023, after three days under the rubble of a collapsed building in the city of Kahramanmaras, southeast Turkey.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck while people were sleeping early Monday morning in a region already struggling with the loss and displacement of many people as a result of Syria’s civil war.
An official at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing told AFP an aid convoy reached rebel-held northwest Syria on Thursday, the first since the quake left survivors sleeping outside due to the risk of aftershocks.
A decade of civil war and Syrian-Russian airstrikes have already destroyed hospitals, collapsed the economy and led to shortages of electricity, fuel and water.
Meanwhile, temperatures in the Turkish city of Gaziantep dropped to minus five degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) early Thursday, but thousands of families spent the night in cars and makeshift tents, too scared or forbidden to return to their homes.
Parents walked the streets of the city near the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake, carrying their children in blankets because it was warmer than in a tent.
People walk past the bodies stored in a sports hall in the southeastern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras
Dead bodies in bags lie on the ground in a morgue at a cemetery on February 9, 2023 in Hatay, Turkey
White Helmets volunteers pull a child from the rubble as they rescue him after a deadly earthquake in Jandaris, Syria, February 8, 2023
Some people found shelter with neighbors or relatives. Some left the region. But many have nowhere to go.
Gymnasiums, mosques, schools and some shops are open at night. But beds are still expensive and thousands spend the night in cars with their engines running to stay warm.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited one of the hardest-hit places, Kahramanmaras, after online criticism of the initial disaster relief efforts and acknowledged the problems.
“Of course there are mistakes. The terms are clear. It is impossible to be prepared for such a catastrophe,” he said on Wednesday.
“We are now running against time to save lives together,” EU boss Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter.
Rescue workers carry a boy on a stretcher who lies buried under the rubble after almost three days
Cranes remove large pieces of debris from the remains of a collapsed building
Search and rescue efforts continue after 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes hit several provinces of Turkey, including Kahramanmaras, Turkey on February 9, 2023
The tragedy may be localized in Turkey and Syria, but aid agencies and governments from around the world have flocked to the region to offer their support and life-saving expertise.
Dozens of countries, including China and the United States, have pledged help, and search teams and supplies have already arrived.
The EU is planning a donor conference in Brussels in March to mobilize international aid for Syria and Turkey.
The European Union said the conference was being held in cooperation with the Turkish authorities “to mobilize funds from the international community to support the people of both countries”.
The bloc quickly dispatched rescue teams to Turkey after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the country near the Syrian border on Monday.
As a result of the EU sanctions imposed against President Bashar al-Assad’s government since 2011 in response to the repression of protesters, which culminated in civil war, it initially provided minimal aid to Syria through existing humanitarian programs.
Damascus officially asked the EU for help on Wednesday, the bloc’s crisis management official said.
The border between Turkey and Syria is one of the most active seismic zones in the world.
Monday’s earthquake was the biggest since 1939, when 33,000 people died in the eastern Erzincan province.
In 1999, a 7.4 earthquake killed more than 17,000 people.
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
