The child whose father died and was rescued unharmed from a hole, the family saved by the walls of their collapsed building or the former footballer from Málaga who was found injured are some of the lifeguards’ achievements that offer a little hope amid the catastrophe.
The expression gives hope in the face of the mounds of rubble that sow Hatay. “Is anyone else inside?” Because it means rescuers have found a survivor and are hoping to find more people alive. Sometimes it doesn’t work. The firefighters rescued little Orçun from the folds of a collapsed building, where he was miraculously sheltered in a minimal cave between beams and rubble during the first earthquake. “Is anyone else inside?” a firefighter shouts into the dark void after pulling the child out. “My father passed away”. Orçun replies.
Hatay, the ancient Turkish city located in the south of the country on the Mediterranean coast, is the festival of destruction. The two earthquakes recorded Monday shook it up, shook it up and ripped it apart. All the buildings on the main street have collapsed. More than a thousand dead have been counted in the streets. And there is not even a clear idea of how many people are trapped under the rubble.
The combined rescue team arrived this morning at this bleak and minimal example of the immense catastrophe Turkey and Syria are undergoing; a crisis so overwhelming that it is difficult to predict its future recovery. They started tracking. To dig. Between zero and two degrees below zero, the cold speeds up the search. It is not just about the risk of death from crushing, suffocation or bleeding, but about fatal hypothermia. The team has already seen thousands of survivors wearing only pajamas, no outerwear. The first earthquake surprised them asleep. “Anyone there?” And suddenly the voice of little Umay and her parents comes up.
The brief miracle of Anatolia. The three are trapped in a small triangle between partitions that support thousands of pounds of rubble. It is so small that the older ones only fit half lying down. The mother, pregnant, is the second to emerge from the mousetrap. They give him a blanket so he can crawl on it and not cut himself on glass and debris. Then the father comes out. All three unharmed. The three cry. They infect the rescuers. His boss posted the photo online: «Umay, your rescue reassures us a little. This is good news from our rescue teams in Hatay.”
From there also comes the loving voice of Arda Bulut, a child who has spent 28 hours alone in the darkness of the remains of his home. The soldiers managed to reach him. There is a video this morning that moves and brings tears to a society that has already cried everything for the past 36 hours. In it, Arda is seen slowly, crouching, emerging from his trap to hold the hand offered to him by a soldier. He takes it, hugs it, looks into his eyes and says with childlike curiosity, “I know you from somewhere.”
Time is running out, but sometimes it takes a while to swallow. Hulya and her baby have been buried for 29 hours in the remains of the building where they lived in Odabasi. They both slept in his apartment. Suddenly they woke up. Darkness, dust and the roar of breaking concrete. While the world was overwhelmed by the great Turkish tragedy and thousands of volunteers mobilized, Hulya and her baby remained frozen in time, without water or food, until this Tuesday at daybreak someone heard the little one’s cries and the rescue operation initiated.
The media reported this morning how a 24-year-old woman was rescued after 27 hours of terror under the remains of a residential building in Kahramanmaras province. They also tell of the bittersweet operation in which a team of firefighters rescued Deniz Kaya, a survivor after 24 hours under the rubble of a residential tower in Osmaniye. “Is anyone else inside?” Again, the formula of hope. But Deniz denies. His wife and one-and-a-half-year-old daughter have been crushed to death.
About 100,000 people work in disaster relief. Several thousand tracks straight to the devastated regions, though the state of devastation keeps many dark corners. 300,000 sheets, more than 41,500 tents, 100,000 beds and a huge amount of heating and cooking equipment have been sent to deal with the cold storm. Daily Sabah’.
Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu is one of the rescued. He survived the collapse of his residence, as reported by the vice president of his club, Hatayspor. Atsu, who played for Malaga, Chelsea and Newcastle, is “injured” and in hospital. “Our sports director, Taner Savut, is unfortunately still in the rubble,” he lamented. Fortune has not smiled on Ahmet Eyüp Türkaslan, the second goalkeeper of Yeni Malatyaspor, who died in the city of Malatya. The video of his wife, Kübra Türkaslan, bloodied after being buried for hours, has taken the country’s breath away. “Help! Eyüp is crushed. Can’t anyone get him out of there? Please help,” the young woman yelled. But this time no one is inside.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
