1.5-year-old twins, parents rescued from under rubble 40 hours after quake hit southern Türkiye

Adsiz Gunebakan and Fevzi Kemal Karagoz

GAZIANTEP, Türkiye (AA) – Forty hours after two powerful earthquakes hit southern Türkiye, one-and-a-half-year-old twin siblings and their parents were rescued from under the rubble.

Twin boy Ahmet Erbay was the first to be rescued in Gaziantep, one of the 10 provinces hit hard by the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes.

The rescue efforts were filmed by the special operations police team.

Rescuers shouted "a miracle is coming" and handed the toddler, which they pulled from the concrete rubble in tears, to the medical teams.

After also rescuing Erbay’s twin sister Amine Elcin, the toddlers were sent to the hospital.

The teams then reached out to the twins' mother Pinar and father Ibrahim Karapirli during the ongoing efforts.

The parents were also sent to the nearest hospital.

At least 5,434 people were killed and 31,777 others injured in 10 provinces of Türkiye after two strong earthquakes on Monday jolted the southern part of the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

The tremors were also felt in neighboring Syria, inflicting widespread damage.