Girl, seven, rescued after five days under rubble as Turkey Syria earthquake deaths cross 28,000
11 February 2023, 16:47 | Updated: 11 February 2023, 22:14
A seven-year-old Syrian girl was rescued after more than five days under the rubble following the world's deadliest earthquake for 13 years.
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Footage of the miraculous rescue showed emergency services carrying the stunned girl down a street strewn with destroyed buildings.
It came as authorities confirmed more than 28,000 people have died in the natural disaster.
Earlier today it was thought the earthquake had killed 21,848 in southern Turkey and 3,553 people in northern Syria, AFP reported.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake was felt in five countries and is the deadliest since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which killed around 150,000 people.
Aya, which means miracle, the seven-year-old Syrian girl, was rescued on the sixth day of the earthquake in Hatay. We witnessed the rescue process as @trtworld team @_OFTanriverdi_ @okalyasin @bibelgeseci @.serdarkaraca pic.twitter.com/kQZNI4HZlU
— Nawras Abu Saleh (@Nawrasabusaleh) February 11, 2023
Last weekend's disaster is also the deadliest earthquake felt in Turkey since 1939 and the strongest felt in Syria since 1822.
Eyewitness reported structural damage in Israel, Cyprus, Lebanon and on Turkey's Black Sea coast, hundreds of miles from the areas worst affected.
The 72-hour window in which survivors are most likely to be found alive has passed.
But there is still stories of people being rescued alive more than 100 hours after the earthquake struck.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accepted that there were some problems with the government's initial response to the disaster.
Erdoğan pledged Turkey "will rebuild" and apologised to survivors as they struggle to rescue everyone who remains trapped."It is not possible to explain the grief we have. I know words are not enough," he said.
He also warned citizens to ignore "provocateurs" who seek to spread "lies" about the Turkish government and his response.
"I am asking all my citizens: do not allow any provocations. Do not believe them. We have to stand together in such a period.
"They are bad people and saying bad things about our nation. We will give the right answer to them when it is time."
He added: "There has been a lot of provocation, thieves and stealing but the government will do its best to prevent it and to find people who commit harm to victims of the earthquake.
"Of course we have difficulties and negatives but believe me we are with victims of the earthquake."
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