More than 8 thousand people have been rescued alive from among the remains of the thousands of buildings that collapsed on Monday due to two strong earthquakes in southeastern Turkey, leaving behind 3 thousand 419 deaths and more than 20 thousand 500 wounded in that country, as reported by the Government today.
Apart from the devastating earthquakes of magnitude 7.4 and 7.6 another 312 tremors have been registered, some of them more than 6, reported the Vice President of Turkey, Fuat Oktay.
In Hatay, some 170 kilometers south of where the first quake struck, rescue teams managed to make contact with a family of four trapped in the rubble.
“We will get them out alive. We are here for that.” a member of the rescue teams was heard saying during a broadcast on the CNNTürk station.
In Diyarbakir, some 350 kilometers east of the province where the first tremor struck, a woman was rescued after being trapped for 31 hours in the rubble of her home, and transferred to a hospital to the applause of the emergency teams.
A 30-year-old man was rescued this morning from a ten-story building that collapsed in Osmaniye province, about 135 kilometers from where it was recorded, at 4:17 a.m. (01:17 GMT) on Monday, the epicenter of the first earthquake, of magnitude 7.4.
From that same building, which had 40 apartments, se have already recovered 12 bodies.
A 14-year-old boy was found alive in Kahramanmaras province, where the first tremor occurred.
“I’m hungry” It was the first thing he said to the rescue teams, according to local media reports.
During the morning there have been scenes of emotion when rescuers managed to locate someone alive after more than a day trapped, especially considering that low temperatures make tasks very difficult.
many citizens waiting for news from family and friends in the vicinity of the collapsed buildings where they lived.
Some 24,000 people are participating in the rescue effortsto which teams from dozens of countries are joining.
While 380 thousand people have been rehoused in facilities of the Ministries of Education and Sports, according to the vice president.
Otkay indicated that the orderly evacuation of the 10 most affected provinces, where some 13 million people live, and also encouraged those who can move by their own means to leave the area.
(With information from EFE and Aristegui News)