Ayse Yildiz, 35, and her daughter Yusra, 2, were rescued from a collapsed apartment building in the Mustafa Pasa district (Turkey) due to the 6.8 magnitude earthquake.
Rescuers pulled out Ayse Yildiz, 35, and her 2-year-old daughter Yusra from the rubble of another toppled apartment building in Elazig after being trapped for 28 hours.
Ayse and her daughter were rescued after more than 28 hours trapped under the rubble.
Rescue teams are currently working day and night to rescue survivors from buildings collapsed by the devastating earthquake that rocked the eastern part of Elazig. The earthquake struck Friday (January 24) at 8:55 am, at a depth of 6.7, with magnitude of 6.5 to 6.8.
Turkish television reported on the rescue of Ayse and her daughter from a collapsed apartment building in Mustafa Pasa district. According to the country's News, rescuers heard the screams of the mother and daughter and took several hours to reach them at temperatures as low as -4 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, Ayse's husband was killed. The earthquake has left 35 people dead and 1,500 injured.
On Saturday, 2,600 workers from 39 out of 81 Turkish provinces were dispatched to the disaster site. They are currently doing their best to do rescue survivors in Mustafa Pasa and the nearby town, Sivrice. This is the closest residential area to the epicenter of Friday night earthquake.
The chairman of Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said the first earthquake resulted in 228 aftershocks, the strongest of which was 5.4 and 5.1 magnitude.
Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, canceled all schedules in Istanbul on Saturday to go to Elazig to check on rescue operations. Speaking at the funeral of a woman and her son - 2 out of 31 people killed, Erdogan described the earthquake as a "test" for Turkey:
“We are doing everything the state and country can do, and we will continue to do so. We will continue our efforts at all rescue sites. No one will be hungry or out on the street. ”
The earthquake survivors spent the night together around a makeshift firewood in Elazig
AFAD warned residents not to return to damaged buildings due to the potential risk of aftershocks. Sports halls will be set up for residents to to evacuate from their home to shelters. The nearby gym is available as a shelter for those who have to leave their homes.
At least 5 buildings in Sivrice district and 25 buildings in Malatya province were destroyed and hundreds of other damaged buildings were listed as unsafe.
A woman rescued from rubble
People at the prison in Adiyaman, 110 km southwest from the epicenter, were evacuated because the prison was damaged in the earthquake.
Ministry of Interior Suleyman Soylu described the earthquake as a "level 3" incident based on the country's emergency response plan. This means that this disaster needs national support but not to the extent that international assistance is needed.
Turkey is a country with frequent earthquakes. In 1999, two strong earthquakes in northwest Turkey killed around 18,000. In 2010, a magnitude 6 earthquake killed 51 people in Elazig.
