3 Year Old Girl Found Safe In Apartment Collapsed Due To Earthquake In Turkey

Evacuation of 3-year-old girl, earthquake victim in Turkey (Numan Erolmez / Istanbul Fire Authority)

JAKARTA - An earthquake of 7.0 magnitude rocked Turkey on October 30 and collapsed several buildings in the affected areas. In the midst of the evacuation process, the officers managed to save a 3-year-old girl from the ruins of an apartment building in Izmir.

Quoting CNN, Tuesday, November 3, the little boy was known as Elif Perincek. He was rescued on Monday, November 2 yesterday after 65 hours of devastating earthquake struck.

When Elif was successfully brought out of the rubble, the workers and the spectators applauded. Wrapped in a foil blanket and covered in dust, he got into the ambulance. Muammar Celik, the firefighter who pulled the girl from the rubble, said Elif held her hand tightly until she took her to safety.

Celik tells that she found Elif between the bed and her dresser. He found him lying on his back.

"I then picked him up. I cleaned his face to get rid of the dust. He held me and didn't let go until we got to the ambulance," said Celik. "Elif is our miracle," he said.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the 3-year-old had been taken to hospital and was being treated in intensive care. Koca said Elif had no serious fracture or muscle injury and was in good condition.

Another survivor

The news of the rescue came just hours after a child was found alive under the rubble and safely taken out by rescuers. Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said 14-year-old Idil Sirin was rescued after spending more than 58 hours trapped under a collapsed building.

A video shows the dramatic moment of Sirin's rescue, dozens of onlookers cheering as he is freed from the rubble. Sirin was given first aid at the scene before being taken to the local hospital.

At least 91 people were killed and 994 injured after the earthquake centered on the Aegean Sea occurred. The earthquake rocked parts of Greece and Turkey.

In addition, the earthquake also struck 14 kilometers northeast of the town of Néon Karlovásion in Samos. The USGS reported that at a relatively shallow depth of 21 kilometers, the impact was felt on the ground around the epicenter. About 20 buildings were badly damaged in Izmir in the earthquake, according to Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer, most of them in the middle-class district of Bayrakli.

More than 900 aftershocks have been recorded since the initial quake, 42 of them measuring more than 4.0, said Turkey's disaster agency. The earthquake also triggered a "mini tsunami" which flooded roads in several areas in Turkey.