A 2-year-old girl has been rescued from a collapsed building nearly 91 hours after a devastating earthquake hit the Aegean coastal Turkish city of Izmir on Friday. Rescue workers called the space she was lying in a “life triangle.”
Rescuers recovered Ayda’s mother’s dead body just hours after the girl’s rescue, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). She said, ‘I’m fine.’ We asked her to wave her hand and she did,” rescue worker Nusret Aksoy told the press.
Video of the search efforts showed rescue workers crying, clapping and praying as the 2-year-old was pulled from the rubble and wrapped in a thermal foil blanket.
Rescue workers said the girl asked for water and Ayran, a Turkish yogurt drink popular with children. During the search efforts, he was guiding rescue workers through his family’s destroyed home, according to reports.
News of Ayda’s rescue came just a day after another child was found alive under the rubble and safely rescued.
Rescue efforts are ongoing at five of the 17 collapsed building sites in Izmir, the emergency response directorate said.
