3-year-old girl rescued from collapsed building days after Turkey earthquake
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By Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
IZMIR, Turkey — Days after a powerful earthquake in the Aegean Sea shook Turkey and Greece, rescuers pulled a 3-year-old girl out from the debris of a collapsed building in the Turkish city of Izmir, according to officials and multiple reports.
Turkish authorities posted video of the rescue Monday on social media. The girl, identified as Elif Perincek, was pulled from the wreckage 65 hours after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook the region, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Firefighter Muammer Celik told The Associated Press that he found Elif lying on her back in the small space between her bed and a closet.
“At first, I was very upset,” he said. “Then I stretched out my hand to clean her face and she grabbed my thumb. … I froze because right before that moment, I had asked my team for a blanket and a body bag.”
He called the discovery that Elif was alive “a firefighter’s joy.”
Video posted online by Turkey’s health minister, Fahrettin Altun, showed Elif recovering Monday after being taken to a hospital. In a post on Twitter, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wished Elif and other children injured by the earthquake speedy recoveries.
Elif’s mother and two of her siblings were pulled from the rubble of their apartment building in the Bayrakli neighborhood on Saturday, The New York Times reported. One other sibling did not survive the temblor, according to the newspaper.
At least 1,225 aftershocks have been recorded since Friday’s earthquake, which has claimed at least 85 lives and injured nearly 1,000 people in Turkey. On Monday, officials said nearly 8,000 search-and-rescue personnel and 25 search-and-rescue dogs were looking for survivors.
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings People walk past a destroyed house after an earthquake in the Greek island of Samos on October 30, 2020. (STR/Eurokinissi/AFP via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings This picture shows destroyed car and collapsed buildings after an earthquake in the Greek island of Samos on October 30, 2020. (STR/Eurokinissi/AFP via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Search and rescue works are being conducted at debris of a building after a strong quake shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast, in Izmir, Turkey on October 30, 2020. (Lokman Ilhan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Search and rescue works continue at debris of a building after a quake shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast, in Izmir, Turkey on October 30, 2020. (Lokman Ilhan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Boats anchored to the coast are seen damaged after a strong quake shook Turkey's Seferihisar coastline in Izmir, Aegean Sea in Turkey on October 30, 2020. (Cemre Can Tutar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Boats anchored to the coast and a car are seen damaged after a strong quake shook Turkey's Seferihisar coastline in Izmir, Aegean Sea in Turkey on October 30, 2020. (Cemre Can Tutar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings People stand outside their homes in Izmir, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea shook Turkey and Greece. (Ismail Gokmen/AP)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Wounded people are cut free from the wreckage as search and rescue works continue at debris of a building in Bayrakli district after a strong quake shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast, in Izmir, Turkey on October 30, 2020. (Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings A woman reacts as search and rescue works continue at debris of a building after a quake shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast, in Izmir, Turkey on October 30, 2020. (Lokman Ilhan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Wounded people are cut free from the wreckage as search and rescue works continue at debris of a building in Bayrakli district after a strong quake shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast, in Izmir, Turkey on October 30, 2020. (Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Search and rescue work continues at debris of a building after a quake shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast, in Izmir, Turkey on October 30, 2020. (Lokman Ilhan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings A view of a quake damaged site right after a strong temblor shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast, in Izmir, Turkey on October 30, 2020. (Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Rescue workers and local people try to reach residents trapped in the debris of a collapsed building, in Izmir, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea shook Turkey and Greece. (Ismail Gokmen/AP)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Search and rescue work is conducted at debris of a building in the Bayrakli district in Izmir, Turkey, after a strong quake shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast on October 30, 2020. (Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Rescue workers and local people try to reach residents trapped in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea shook Turkey and Greece. (Ismail Gokmen/AP)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Rescue workers and local people try to save residents trapped in the debris of a collapsed building, in Izmir, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea shook Turkey and Greece. (Ismail Gokmen/AP)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings A man weeps as rescue workers and local people try to save residents trapped in the debris of a collapsed building, in Izmir, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea shook Turkey and Greece. (Ismail Gokmen/AP)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings A man walks among debris of collapsed buildings in Izmir, Turkey, after a strong quake shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast on October 30, 2020. (Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Search and rescue works are being conducted at debris of a building in Bayrakli district of Izmir after a strong quake shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast on October 30, 2020. (Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Wounded people are cut free from wreckage as search and rescue crews continue work at the debris of a building in Bayrakli district of Izmir after a strong quake shook Turkey's Aegean Sea coast on October 30, 2020. (Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings People stand outside their homes in Izmir, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea shook Turkey and Greece. (Ismail Gokmen/AP)
Deadly earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, destroying buildings Rescue workers and local people try to save residents trapped in the debris of a collapsed building, in Izmir, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea shook Turkey and Greece. (Ismail Gokmen/AP)
3-year-old girl pulled from rubble days after Turkey earthquake In this handout photo made available by the Istanbul Fire Authority, members of various rescue services carry 3-year-old girl Elif Perincek, after she was rescued from the rubble of a building some 65 hours after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Izmir, Turkey, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020. (Istanbul Fire Authority via AP)