Man rescued from rubble after 33 hours as Turkey quake death toll hits 62

Published November 1, 2020
Members of rescue services with sniffer dogs search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey on November 1. — AP
Members of rescue services with sniffer dogs search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey on November 1. — AP
This aerial view taken on November 1, 2020 shows volunteers and rescue personnel searching for survivors in a collapsed building in Izmir, after a powerful earthquake struck Turkey's western coast and parts of Greece. — AFP
This aerial view taken on November 1, 2020 shows volunteers and rescue personnel searching for survivors in a collapsed building in Izmir, after a powerful earthquake struck Turkey's western coast and parts of Greece. — AFP

A 70-year-old man was pulled from the rubble of a flattened building in western Turkey early on Sunday after being buried under the debris for 33 hours following a powerful earthquake that struck the country's Aegean coast and Greek islands.

Turkish authorities reported more deaths on Sunday, bringing the toll to 62, all in Izmir, while two teenagers died on the Greek island of Samos.

The man, identified as Ahmet Citim, was rescued from the rubble of the residential “Riza Bey” building, one of the 20 residencies that collapsed during the earthquake.

The Turkish province of Izmir was shaken by an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 which struck the country's Aegean coast and Greek islands on Friday. The quake caused a mini-tsunami on the Aegean island of Samos and a sea surge that turned streets into rushing rivers in one Turkish coastal town.

Officials said 20 buildings were destroyed in Izmir's Bayrakli district which was in the process of urban transformation due to lack of earthquake resistance. Rescue workers are still trying to save people trapped under the debris.

Rescue and emergency teams have been working through the wrecked buildings for two days and President Tayyip Erdogan said his government was “determined to heal the wounds of our brothers and sisters in Izmir before the cold and rains begin.”

More than 3,000 tents and 13,000 beds have been supplied to provide temporary shelter, according to Turkey’s disasters and emergency agency AFAD, which said 940 people had been injured in Friday’s earthquake.

More than 700 victims have so far been discharged from hospitals, while eight remain in intensive care, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Turkey is crossed by fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. In 1999, two powerful quakes killed 18,000 people in northwestern Turkey.

The Friday earthquake, which the Istanbul-based Kandilli Institute said had a magnitude of 6.9, was centered in the Aegean Sea, northeast of Samos.

President Erdogan said 885 people had been injured, 15 of them critically.

'I will play violin for you'

Sixteen-year-old Inci Okan was trapped under the rubble of the same eight-story building as the elderly man before being rescued 17 hours after the strong quake, along with her dog Fistik (Pistachio).

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca and National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE) member Edanur Dogan visited Okan at hospital.

Emergency worker Dogan had held the girl's hand while rescue teams removed the debris above her.

“I am very happy. Thankfully my father was not at home. My father couldn't fit there. He would hurt his head. I am tiny. I am short so I squeezed in and that's how I was rescued. We stayed home with my dog. Both of us are well,” Okan said from her hospital bed.

Okan promised to play the violin for Dogan after being discharged from hospital.

“I will play the violin for you, I promise.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and offered condolences and "all possible support and assistance" to Turkey.

According to a statement by the PM Office, the prime minister had assured President Erdogan that Pakistanis will stand by their "Turkish brothers and sisters" just like Turkey stood by Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake.

Opinion

Editorial

Anti-women state
Updated 25 Nov, 2024

Anti-women state

GLOBALLY, women are tormented by the worst tools of exploitation: rape, sexual abuse, GBV, IPV, and more are among...
IT sector concerns
25 Nov, 2024

IT sector concerns

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ambitious plan to increase Pakistan’s IT exports from $3.2bn to $25bn in the ...
Israel’s war crimes
25 Nov, 2024

Israel’s war crimes

WHILE some powerful states are shielding Israel from censure, the court of global opinion is quite clear: there is...
Short-changed?
Updated 24 Nov, 2024

Short-changed?

As nations continue to argue, the international community must recognise that climate finance is not merely about numbers.
Overblown ‘threat’
24 Nov, 2024

Overblown ‘threat’

ON the eve of the PTI’s ‘do or die’ protest in the federal capital, there seemed to be little evidence of the...
Exclusive politics
24 Nov, 2024

Exclusive politics

THERE has been a gradual erasure of the voices of most marginalised groups from Pakistan’s mainstream political...