A Turkish man was rescued after 278 hours trapped in the destruction of an earthquake that has left thousands dead, local rescue crews reported.
Hakan Yasinoglu, a man in his 40s, was pulled from the rubble over a week and a half after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook the region, according to the Istanbul Fire Brigade, Reuters reported.
Osman Halebiye, 14, and Mustafa Avci, 34, were rescued almost a day before, 261 hours after the earthquake, in the city of Antakya.
The city, formerly known as Antioch, was the center of the region in the Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader periods.
TURKISH GIRL RESCUED AFTER BEING STUCK UNDER RUBBLE FOR 178 HOURS
Avci had an emotional reunion with his family, including his newborn child, who he hadn’t met yet, via phone.
“I had completely lost all hope. This is a true miracle. They gave me my son back. I saw the wreckage, and I thought nobody could be saved alive from there,” his father said.
Turkey’s health minister tweeted a video of Avci’s call to his family.
“Mustafa, who was rescued tonight at the 261st hour from under the rubble in Hatay, first called a relative whose phone number he remembered after the medical intervention. We are very happy to see our brother Mustafa so well,” Dr. Fahrettin Koca captioned the video.
Hatay’da enkaz altından 261’inci saatte, bu gece kurtarılan Mustafa, tıbbi müdahalenin ardından ilk olarak, telefon numarasını hatırladığı bir yakınını aradı. Kardeşimiz Mustafa’yı bu kadar iyi görmekten çok mutluyuz. pic.twitter.com/t0jrmH0M6r
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) February 16, 2023
Koca reported another victim rescued at the 261st hour, Mehmet Ali.
Hayat dolu haberler bu gece birbirini izliyor. Kardeşimiz Mehmet Ali, Hatay’da enkaz altından 261’inci saatte kurtarılan ikinci vatandaşımız. İlk tıbbi müdahalesi Sahra Hastanesinde yapıldı. Şu an Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesinde tedavi altında. pic.twitter.com/3WNgR8KkKW
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) February 17, 2023
The rescues come to the surprise of many experts, some of whom said that chances of rescues past the first few days were exceedingly low.
David Alexander, professor of emergency planning and management at University College London, told the Associated Press on Feb. 8, “Statistically, today is the day when we’re going to stop finding people.” Friday’s survivors were found nine days later.
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The latest reported death toll for the earthquake was 43,360 across Turkey and Syria, Al Jazeera reported. The majority of the deaths occurred in Turkey. The total is expected to rise.
