After the massive devastation in Turkey caused by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, rescue operations are increasing in intensity and workers are racing to save as many people who are still alive and trapped in the rubble as possible.
The finding of a 2-week-old baby girl alive, after 48 hours of the quake, was nothing less than a miracle. The newborn was found breathing; workers salvaged her from a narrow slit in the rubble of an earthquake-destroyed building in Ercis.
The Washington Post reported that the rescue workers reached the baby, named Azra Karaduman, after hours of frantic digging.
The death toll has already climbed past 400, leaving thousands homeless and many orphaned. Tuesday's rescue of Azra, the baby who survived for over 48 hours in near-freezing temperature, was an unparalleled delight for the rescue workers.
The dramatic operation was more remarkable because it saved three generations of the family, reported CBS News.
Bringing them out is such happiness. I wouldn't be happier if they gave me tons of money, rescuer Oytun Gulpinar told Associated Press. The baby, the AP report continued, has been declared healthy after being flown to a hospital in Ankara, the Turkish capital.
The aid workers are trying to find more bodies and people trapped amid the debris. However, the father of the rescued infant is still not to be found.
The report said that five other people have been found alive in the rubble, including 10-year-old Serhat Gur, who was found after 54 hours but died a short time later.
New study examined fetal heart rate patterns, providing more insight as to when mothers should get C-sections. ReutersA rescue worker carries a baby girl from a collapsed building in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van, October 25, 2011. Rescuers pulled a two-week-old baby girl alive from the arms of her mother, who had also survived but was still trapped in the rubble of their apartment on Tuesday, two days after a powerful earthquake in southeast Turkey.ReutersA baby girl, rescued from a building that collapsed during an earthquake, rests in an incubator in a hospital in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van, October 25, 2011. Rescuers pulled the two-week-old baby girl alive from the wreckage of a collapsed apartment block on Tuesday as they battled to find survivors from a earthquake in eastern Turkey that killed at least 366 people and left thousands homeless.ReutersRescue workers carry a baby from a collapsed building in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van, October 25, 2011. Rescuers pulled a two-week-old baby girl alive from the arms of her mother, who had also survived but was still trapped in the rubble of their apartment on Tuesday, two days after a powerful earthquake in southeast Turkey. The mother was clutching the infant to her chest when rescuers reached them, and they were working to bring her out, as well as a grandmother, who was also still alive.ReutersRescue workers carry a baby from a collapsed building in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van, October 25, 2011. A 14-day-old baby was rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building on Tuesday, 46 hours after an earthquake struck southeast Turkey, a Reuters Television journalist said.ReutersRescue workers carry a baby girl from a collapsed building in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van, October 25, 2011. Rescuers pulled a two-week-old baby girl alive from the arms of her mother, who had also survived but was still trapped in the rubble of their apartment on Tuesday, two days after a powerful earthquake in southeast Turkey.ReutersThe baby girl, rescued from a building that collapsed during an earthquake, rests in an incubator in a hospital in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van, in this still image taken from video footage October 25, 2011. Rescuers pulled the two-week-old baby girl alive from the arms of her mother buried under a collapsed building on Tuesday as a search continued for survivors from a quake in eastern Turkey that killed at least 366 people and left thousands homeless.Reuters
