Little girls pulled out alive from rubble as rescuers race against time in Türkiye

By Cahit Emrali, Sergen Sezgin, Fatih Capkin and Eren Bozkurt

KAHRAMANMARAS/HATAY, Türkiye (AA) – As rescue efforts continued in the quake-hit areas of southern Türkiye, two little girls were pulled to safety after being trapped under the rubble.

Mina, aged 5, was pulled out alive from a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras province by rescuers after spending 89 hours under the debris.

“I am very happy. I've never felt this happy before. I am very happy to rescue her,” Murat Kaya, who is taking part in the search and rescue operation, told Anadolu.

Meanwhile, another miracle happened in Hatay province 88 hours after the first devastating first earthquake hit the country when two-year-old Fatma Halifi was rescued from a destroyed building.

At least 17,674 people were killed and 72,879 others injured by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye earlier this week, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said Thursday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, were felt Monday by 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of fewer than 10 hours.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan