The search for survivors in the rubble left behind from a recent earthquake in eastern Turkey has been constant since the quake struck. Rescuers discovered a 2-week-old baby, along with her mother and grandmother, alive in the debris on Tuesday, Oct. 25.
Video showed images of the baby, Azra Karaduman, just after the rescue with an oxygen mask on while being carried to a hospital-bound vehicle.
The 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit at 1:41 p.m. local time on Sunday, Oct. 23, approximately 12 miles from Van, Turkey, according to CNN. As of Wednesday, Oct. 26, the official death toll reaches 461 people, with 1,352 injured, as calculated by the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Relief Agency. Rescuers have since been searching constantly for survivors.
Pulling Karaduman from the rubble was challenging, as told to CNN reporters. The 3-week-premature infant, along with mother and grandmother, were trapped behind a narrow crevice. The rescuer who pulled Karaduman out told CNN that the infant was the first he had ever found alive in earthquake rubble after 12 years of rescue work.
Karaduman’s father still remains trapped in the debris. Four more people were pulled from the building rubble, all found dead, but none have been identified as the baby’s father.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, over approximately 2,300 rescuers had arrived in the Turkish region by Monday, Oct. 24. Multiple aftershocks have occurred since the quake, including one magnitude 6.0.
Two more people have been rescued alive from collapsed buildings, 27-year old teacher Gozde Bahar
and 18-year-old Eyup Erdem. Both were taken to hospitals.
For more information, visit www.cnn.com.