Antakya, Turkey, Feb 18 (AFP/APP): Turkish rescuers on Saturday pulled three people alive from the rubble 13 days after a massive quake killed tens of thousands, but one, a 12-year-old, later died.
More than 43,000 people died after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, the deadliest natural disaster in the region in centuries.
Teams have been finding survivors all week despite them being trapped under rubble for so long in freezing weather, but the numbers rescued alive have dropped to just a handful in the past few days.
Former Ghana international footballer Christian Atsu was among the dead after his manager confirmed on Saturday his body had been found beneath a collapsed building in Antakya city.
State news agency Anadolu shared images of rescuers placing a man and woman on stretchers after they and a child spent 296 hours buried under the rubble in Antakya.
The agency later reported the child died despite efforts to save them.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca shared a video of the 40-year-old woman in a field hospital receiving treatment. “She is conscious,” he tweeted.
The rescues come after teams on Friday pulled a 45-year-old man from rubble, several hours after others found three people including a 14-year-old boy alive under debris.
Rescues had once been met with applause and relief but in recent days, the reaction has been more sombre.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay on Friday said rescue efforts continued at fewer than 200 sites as teams race against time to find more people alive.
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