Turkey: Teenager, two men rescued from rubble 11 days after earthquake

Ankara [Turkey], February 17 (ANI): Turkish rescuers have saved 14-year-old Osman 11 days after the earthquake jolted Turkey and neighbouring Syria on February 6, Turkish Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter. He stated that Osman, who was rescued 260 hours after the earthquake struck Turkey, has been taken to Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Hospital for treatment.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Fahrettin Koca stated, “14-year-old Osman is with us again at the 260th hour, after intense efforts. Currently, the first medical intervention is being performed at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Hospital. I am with our baby on behalf of all of us.” He shared an image of a teenager with his eyes open on a stretcher. Elsewhere, rescuers saved two men aged 26 and 34 pulling them out from the rubble in Turkey’s Hatay province on Thursday night, Anadolu Agency reported. Search and rescue teams found Mehmet Ali Sakiroglu, 26, and Mustafa Avci, 34, alive under the rubble in Antakya district of Turkey.

In another tweet, the Turkish Health Minister stated, “Lively news follows each other tonight. Our brother Mehmet Ali is our second citizen who was rescued from the rubble in Hatay at the 261st hour. His first medical intervention was done at the Field Hospital. He is currently under treatment at Mustafa Kemal University Medical Faculty Hospital.”

He also informed about rescuers saving Mustafa in Turkey. He tweeted, “Mustafa, who was rescued tonight at the 261st hour from under the rubble in Hatay, first called a relative whose phone number he remembered after the medical intervention. We are very happy to see our brother Mustafa so well.”

The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and northwestern Syria has surpassed 41,000 as rescue efforts continue, Voice of America (VOA) reported. On Thursday, two women were pulled from the debris in Turkey’s southern city of Kahramanmaras, and a mother and two children were rescued in Antakya nine days after the earthquake, VOA reported citing Anadolu Agency report.