A Turkish woman was rescued Friday after spending more than 100 hours trapped in the rubble of her earthquake-stricken home under the body of her husband, a German non-profit organization said.
It took rescue teams more than 50 hours to painstakingly wade through the debris to reach the 40-year-old woman in the town of Kirikhan in Turkey’s southern Hatay province.
“It was a very complicated rescue,” said Stefan Heine, a spokesman for the German search and rescue organization ISAR, describing how rescuers had to make their way “centimeter by centimeter through concrete and rubble”.
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More than 21,000 people were killed in a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday. Hopes of finding more survivors are fading, as experts say the chances of saving a life drop dramatically after 72 hours.
The woman, named only as Zeynep, is now in stable condition and receiving medical treatment, Heine said, after she was finally taken out on a stretcher.
During the long rescue operation, emergency workers were able to keep in touch with Zeynep through a small shaft, which also allowed her to give them water.
Zeynep lying prone throughout the ordeal, under the body of her late husband, Heine said. The bodies of other family members were also nearby.
Rescuers worked tirelessly to free Zeynep, removing bucket after bucket of debris and carefully cutting through concrete blocks to make a narrow path for her.
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“Everyone on the scene was very excited about the rescue and was very impressed by the strength of the woman,” said Steven Bayer, who led the rescue mission.
The German ISAR team documented the rescue on Twitter.
In one video, rescue workers wearing red and yellow jackets can be seen talking to Zeynep through a small gap in the rubble.
“Korkma,” he told her, Turkish for “don’t be afraid”.
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