Turkey Earthquake: Three Generations Rescued From Rubble

By Katherine Weber, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, October 25, 2011

One of the youngest survivors has been rescued from the rubble left by the earthquake that struck Turkey Sunday afternoon.

Rescuers carried 14-day-old Azra Karaduman from a seven story collapsed building in Ercis, Turkey, where she had spent 46 hours under the rubble.

The infant’s mother, 25-year-old Semiha Karaduman, was also pulled from the rubble hours after her child was rescued.

The child’s grandmother has also been rescued, but her father remains missing as the death toll rises to 366 in light of Sunday’s earthquake, which lasted 25 seconds and hit the provincial capital of Van and the eastern city of Ercis the hardest.

Ercis, with a population of 75,000, is categorized as one of Turkey’s most earthquake-prone zones. As of Tuesday morning, 1,300 have been injured in the quake.

“Turkey is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on major geological fault lines,” reported BBC News.

The quake has also demolished 2500 buildings.

Photos show volunteers and rescue teams breaking down the large amounts of rubble crushing the city; some volunteers used shovels and even their bare hands to reach those trapped under the destruction.

More than 100 aftershocks were recorded within 10 hours of the initial earthquake.

“May God protect us from this kind of grief,” resident Kursat Lap, who lost his nephew’s family, told the Associated Press.

Many of those trapped in the rubble used their cellular phones to call for help and notify rescuers of their location. Others, once freed, helped free their friends by determining where they would have been when the quake struck.

Some were pulled free after lying under rubble for 24 hours; video footage shows volunteers carrying a rescued toddler from the rubble as well.

This is the most detrimental earthquake to hit Turkey in 10 years.