Miracle on earth: Turkish rescuers rescue three survivors 8 days after earthquake

The search for survivors continues after the earthquake in Turkey. (February 14, 2023)

Washington — Turkish rescuers recovered more survivors from the rubble Tuesday (Feb. 14) nearly 200 hours after a powerful earthquake shook the region.

The latest rescue operations included one person from a collapsed building in Adiyaman province and two people from a destroyed building in central Kahramanmaras, the epicenter.

Scenes of the rescue were broadcast on Turkish television, but experts warned that after so long, the chances of finding more survivors among the wreckage of the collapsed building were fading.

Turkish residents of Samandag in Hatay province have complained that the government is not doing enough to search for survivors.

One survivor told the media that everything was done through volunteer and community efforts, not by the government.

“We rescued a woman and her child from the rubble. Alive. With our own efforts. With our sledgehammer, with our hammer. I have many friends around me. This is unacceptable,’ said one rescuer.

Another rescuer said: “Volunteers here are working day and night. They don’t even eat. They don’t even come down to drink water. AFAD (Turkish Disaster Management Agency) is said to come to save us. The team came here for testing. Work. They just come and go. They say, ‘There’s nothing here,’ and walk away.”

Turkish authorities reported that at least 31,643 people were killed in the massive earthquake in the Gaziantep region.

In northern Syria, the UN humanitarian office said Monday that the death toll exceeded 4,300, and 7,600 were injured.