Earthquake: a woman rescued in Turkey after more than 100 hours under the rubble

A woman was saved Friday in Kirikhan (Turkey) by a team of German rescuers, after more than 100 hours under the rubble of a house devastated by the earthquake which left more than 21,700 dead, according to an NGO.

• Read also: More than 21,700 dead in the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, hope is dwindling

“The rescue team took more than 50 hours to make their way through the rubble to reach this woman,” the German NGO ISAR Germany wrote on Twitter.

The 40-year-old woman, named Zeynep, was “immediately” taken care of by doctors, her condition is “stable”, according to the NGO.

The German team explains that they managed to supply the victim with water and fruit juice using a hose. They also maintained contact with her through a small well.

“The rescue was very complicated because it was very narrow,” NGO spokesman Stefan Heine told AFP, describing “centimeter work using rock breakers”. “The woman lay on her stomach for a very long time, very close to deceased relatives.”

“For us too, this intervention was unique,” added this member of the NGO, which specializes in particular in assisting victims of natural disasters. “Never before had such a long contact been maintained with a buried person.”

This victim thus held out beyond the 72-hour mark, considered crucial by the experts to find survivors under the rubble.

More than 90% of earthquake survivors are rescued within three days of the disaster. However, this duration can vary significantly depending on the weather, the frequency of aftershocks and the speed of help to arrive on the scene.

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