Turkey: 2 people rescued 13 days after quake

With more than 43,000 dead, it is the deadliest natural disaster in the region for centuries.

Thirteen days after the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, 2 survivors were extracted rubble on Saturday. (File photo)

Two people were rescued on Saturday after being pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, southern Turkey, 13 days after an earthquake hit the area.

This is the deadliest natural disaster in the region in centuries.

Throughout the week, Turkish rescue teams have found survivors who had long been trapped under the rubble in freezing temperatures.

But the number of these survivors has dwindled to a few in recent days.

A few days ago in Turkey, a teenage girl was pulled out of the ruins more than 182 hours after the earthquake. (File photo)

One ​​of those killed is Ghanaian soccer player Christian Atsu, whose body was found under a collapsed building in the city of x27;Antakya.

Sportsman Christian Atsu died in a building collapse in Turkey. (File photo)

His death was confirmed by Murat Uzunmehmet, his agent in Turkey, quoted by the Turkish private agency DHA, ending almost two weeks of concern and research for the relatives of the 31-year-old soccer player .

The Anadolu State News Agency released footage of the rescue of the survivors found on Saturday.

On It sees a man and a woman on stretchers after spending 296 hours trapped in rubble in Antakya, as well as a child who died minutes after efforts to save him, according to the agency. /p>

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca released a video of the 40-year-old woman in a field hospital while receiving treatment.

She is aware, he tweeted.

The death toll from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria now exceeds 45,000 and international aid is being organised. Canada has told Turkey that it is prepared to airlift humanitarian supplies. Meanwhile, the rescuers continue their excavations in the rubble and still manage to get out of the survivors. A report by Kim Vermette.

A 45-year-old man was extracted from the rubble on Friday, several hours after three other survivors, including a 14-year-old boy, were still alive under the rubble .

The enthusiastic reactions of witnesses after each rescue have subsided in recent days.

On Friday, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said rescue efforts continued at some 200 sites as teams raced against time to find more survivors.

The earthquake also caused damage in Syria, where more than 3,600 people died. Our photo was taken in Aleppo. (File photo)

The earthquake, which occurred in one of the most active seismic zones in the world, hit populated areas where construction was not ;were unable to withstand such powerful jolts.

Officials and doctors said 39,672 people died in Turkey and 3,688 in Syria in the disaster, bringing the confirmed total to 43,360 killed.

Drama submits president Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under great pressure due to slow rescues and construction deficiencies.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing criticism over the slow pace of relief. In January 2020, another earthquake occurred in the country, injuring a thousand people. (File photo)

In 1999, following an earthquake that killed more than 17,000 people in northwestern Turkey, the authorities had promised that building regulations would be tightened.

The building where soccer player Atsu died, a 12-story luxury building, was built in 2013 when Turkey adopted stricter building standards.

The Turkish police have since arrested the building contractor as he attempted to flee the country, Anadolu reported last week.

Police have also arrested dozens contractors as government vows to crack down on lax building standards.

More than 84,000 buildings have collapsed, are in urgent need of demolition or were badly damaged in the quake, Turkey's Environment Minister Murat Kurum said on Friday.

One ​​of the hard-hit areas is Antakya, an ancient crossroads of civilizations.

Optician Cuneyt Eroglu, 45, sifts through the rubble of his eyewear store Kubat. The city has suffered several earthquakes – nearly one every 100 years – and is no stranger to rebuilding.

We will clean up and continue to live here, he said amid his crooked mounts.

The street past his shop has yet to be cleared of rubble and structures folded metal.

M. Eroglu, whose family escaped the earthquake, now lives in a tent in a village outside Antakya. It would not be fair to leave Antakya, he assured.