Istanbul: Search and rescue teams have saved more survivors from the ruins of the Feb. 6 earthquake that devastated swaths of Turkiye and Syria even as the window for finding people alive continues to shrink.
Here’s a look at the key developments Saturday from the aftermath of the earthquake.
THREE RESCUED IN HATAY
During the 13th day of rescue operations, a couple and their son were extracted from under an apartment building in Antakya, the capital of Hatay province. The child later died.
The three were transferred to ambulances after spending 296 hours buried under the Kanatli apartment block in the centre of the city, local TV reported. Footage showed medics fixing an IV drip to the man’s arm as he lay on a stretcher.
The state-run Anadolu news agency identified them as Samir Muhammed Accar, 49, his wife Ragda, 40, and their 12-year-old son. The boy later died in the hospital. The bodies of two other children were also found in the rubble, reports said, quoting a member of a Kyrgyz rescue team.
Hatay is one of the worst hit of the 11 provinces in the Turkish disaster zone. Turkiye’s death toll was 39,672, taking the number of recorded fatalities across both countries to 43,360, Friday evening.
MISSING GHANAIAN SOCCER PLAYER’S BODY FOUND
Search teams have recovered the body of Ghanaian international soccer player Christian Atsu in the ruins of a building that collapsed during the devastating earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria, his manager said Saturday.
The remains of the soccer star, who had been playing for Turkish Super Lig club Hatayspor, were found in what was left of a luxury 12-story building where he had been living in the hard-hit city of Antakya, Hatay province.
“Atsu’s lifeless body was found under the rubble. At the moment, his belongings are still being removed,” manager Murat Uzunmehmet told private news agency DHA.
The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude quake on Feb. 6 in southeastern Turkiye and northern Syria passed 43,000 Friday and was certain to increase as search teams find more bodies.
The 31-year-old Atsu, who previously played for English Premier League clubs Chelsea, Newcastle United, Everton and Bournemouth, signed for Hatayspor from a Saudi side late last year.
Hatayspor said Atsu’s body was being repatriated to Ghana. “There are no words to describe our sadness,” the club tweeted.
Reports a day after the quake struck had said that Atsu was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building and taken to a hospital for treatment. The club, however, announced days later that Atsu and the club’s sporting director, Taner Savut, were still missing. Savut has not yet been found.
The contractor of the luxury 12-story Ronesans Rezidans building — where Atsu and Savut lived — was detained at Istanbul Airport a week ago, apparently trying to leave the country.
AP
