Hospital footage of ‘miracle toddler’ rescued from İzmir earthquake released
Videos have emerged from a hospital in the Aegean province of İzmir showing three-year-old Elif Perinçek resting in a bed, playing with her toys and getting her treatment. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the toddler, who was rescued 65 hours after the devastating İzmir earthquake, had not sustained any serious fractures or muscle crush injuries and was in good condition.
Duvar English
Videos have emerged from a hospital in the Aegean province of İzmir showing three-year-old Elif Perinçek resting in a bed, playing with her toys and getting her treatment.
Turkeyrejoiced in the miraculous rescue of toddler Elif from under therubble some 65 hours after a strong earthquake jolted the region onOct. 30.
The 106th person to be rescued wounded from the ruins, the photograph of Elif holding onto a firefighter’s thumb became a symbol of hope among Turks, with her name spiking to the top of Twitter’s trending topics.
Istanbul municipality fighter Muammer Çelik, who pulled the girl from the rubble of her home, told reporters that she held tight to his hand until he brought her to safety.
Elif was later in the day recorded at the hospital scratching in her coloring book with crayons and waving at the cameras. In some of the shots, she was pictured while playing with her toys. The toddler was seen having a large bump on the right side of her head and other cuts and bruises.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that Elif had not sustained any serious fractures or muscle crush injuries and was in good condition. He said that the toddler is currently being held in the intensive care as a precautionary measure since she stayed under the rubble for quite a long time. Both of her sisters are in good health, Koca added.
Elif's mother Seher Dereli Perinçek was rescued along with her three children, 10-year-old twins Ezel and Elzem, and seven-year-old Umut. The mother and children were rescued around 23 hours after being buried under their apartment building. While all four were alive at the time of their rescue, Umut later passed away due to his injuries. Elif was the only person among the family members who remained under the rubble. The three-year-old girl survived under piles of debris for 65 hours before being rescued on Nov. 2.
Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said late on Nov. 2 that the death toll had risen to 92 in İzmir - making it the deadliest quake to hit Turkey in nearly a decade.