Rescuers in Turkey pull girl alive from rubble four days after quake

3 November 2020, 10:44

Ayda Gezgin was pulled from the rubble in Izmir
Turkey Earthquake. Picture: PA

The death toll in the earthquake has reached 102.

Rescuers in the Turkish coastal city of Izmir have pulled a young girl out alive from the rubble of a collapsed building four days after a strong earthquake hit Turkey and Greece.

The girl was seen being taken into an ambulance, wrapped in a thermal blanket, amid the sound of cheers and applause from rescue workers.

Reports on Twitter identified her as three-year-old Ayda Gezgin. The child had been trapped inside the rubble for 91 hours since Friday’s quake struck in the Aegean Sea and was the 107th person to have been pulled alive out of collapsed buildings.

Rescue workers pull Ayda Gezgin from the rubble
Rescue workers surround Ayda Gezgin in the rubble (AFAD via AP)

Rescuer Nusret Aksoy told reporters that he heard a child scream before locating the girl next to a dishwasher. He said Ayla waved at him, told him her name and said that she was OK.

“I got goosebumps and my colleague Ahmet cried,” he said.

Her rescue came a day after a three-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl were also pulled out alive from collapsed buildings in Izmir.

Rescuers at site of Turkey earthquake
Members of the rescue services take a break amid a search for survivors (Darko Bandic/AP)

The death toll in the earthquake has reached 104, after emergency crews retrieved more bodies elsewhere in Turkey’s third largest city.

The US Geological Survey rated the quake at a magnitude of 7.0, although other agencies in Turkey recorded it as less severe.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Mint Butterfield is missing in the Tenerd

Billionaire heiress, 16, disappears in San Francisco neighbourhood known for drugs and crime

Haiti Security

Ariel Henry resigns as prime minister of Haiti, paving way for new government

Supreme Court Trump

US Supreme Court arguments begin over Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution

Sexual Misconduct-Harvey Weinstein

New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction

Maryland Bridge Collapse

First cargo ship passes through new channel after Baltimore bridge collapse

China Space

China launches three-member Shenzhou-18 crew to its space station

Harvey Weinstein 2020 rape conviction has been overturned

Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned as New York court orders retrial in landmark #MeToo case

Orpheus Pledger has been arrested

Home and Away star arrested after sparking three-day manhunt - as footage emerges of alleged assault

Trump Hush Money

Trump will be at hush money trial while Supreme Court hears immunity case

India Restaurant Fire

Fire ravages restaurant and hotel in eastern India, killing six people

Turkey Rail Crash Trial

Turkish rail officials jailed over crash that left 25 dead

Israel Palestinians Six Months Photo Gallery

Israeli strikes in Rafah kill at least five as ship comes under attack in Gulf

Belgium NATO Anniversary

Poland ‘wants to be among countries setting the EU agenda’

The Moulin Rouge windmill has been damaged

Mystery as famous Moulin Rouge windmill blades collapse overnight onto Paris street

US China Blinken

Blinken raises Chinese trade practices in meetings with officials in Shanghai

Italy Venice Tourism

Venice launches experiment to charge day-trippers in bid to combat over-tourism