Skip to main content

Turkish rescuers pull 2 more from quake rubble

By the CNN Wire Staff
October 27, 2011 -- Updated 0835 GMT (1635 HKT)
 A woman and child walk past a collapsed building, as a soldier stands guard after the earthquake.
A woman and child walk past a collapsed building, as a soldier stands guard after the earthquake.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • A woman, 27, and a man, 18, are pulled from the debris
  • A day earlier, crews rescue a baby, her mother and her grandmother
  • At least 471 people are killed and 1,650 others are injured, the government says
  • Turkey is accepting international aid

To find out how you can help those devastated by the earthquake in Turkey, visit our Impact Your World page at CNN.com/IMPACT.

Ercis, Turkey (CNN) -- Nearly three days after a massive earthquake shook eastern Turkey, rescuers pulled two more survivors from collapsed buildings Wednesday.

The quake and its aftermath killed at least 471 people and injured at least 1,650 others, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Relief Agency said in a statement on its website.

In the latest rescue, emergency crews pulled a 27-year-old teacher from debris 67 hours after the quake hit, the Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported.

The teacher, Gozde Bahar, had difficulty breathing and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Second Turkish quake victim rescued
Baby rescued from earthquake rubble
Dramatic rescues following Turkey quake

Eyup Erdem, 18, was pulled from a collapsed building where he had been trapped for almost 61 hours and was taken to a field hospital, the semi-official Anatolian news agency reported.

No more information was immediately available on either of the rescues, which occurred in the town of Ercis in the province of Van.

They came a day after crews pulled a baby, her mother and her grandmother alive from the rubble.

The father of 2-week-old Azra Karaduman remained trapped beneath the rubble, officials said. Crews pulled four bodies from the debris after her rescue, but did not say whether they included the infant's father.

Working in temperatures in the 40s (single digits Celsius), teams of rescuers have scoured the ruins for survivors since Sunday's 7.2-magnitude earthquake.

In the town of Guvecli near the Syrian border, the last of the funerals were held Wednesday for the 15 people who died in the town of approximately 2,000 residents. Eighty percent of the 200 buildings were destroyed in the quake and the others were rendered uninhabitable, officials said. Residents were spending the nights crowded into tents, which were in short supply. Residents said aid was arriving sporadically.

In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that the eastern province would be rebuilt. He said 16 planes carrying search-and-rescue teams arrived in the region during the first two days after the earthquake and that 3,755 public personnel, 422 nongovernmental organization workers, 595 search-and-rescue vehicles and 860 health teams had been sent to the affected area.

Turkey said Tuesday that it would accept international aid, citing a need for tents and prefabricated houses for "the reconstruction phase" that will begin after the search-and-rescue efforts, Anadolu said.

Japan's embassy was the first to respond, promising to send about $400,000, Anadolu said. Japan suffered an earthquake and tsunami in March that killed thousands and triggered a nuclear crisis. Britain, Germany, France, Jordan, Qatar, Switzerland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and the United States have also said they could help with reconstruction, the news agency said.

Israel's Ministry of Defense said a plane carrying seven prefabricated buildings and other aid was to depart Wednesday for the stricken region. At least 2,262 buildings were demolished in Van and surrounding villages and towns, the news agency said.

Relations between the two countries have been tense since last year's Israeli commando raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla laden with humanitarian aid. Nine Turkish activists were killed.

Turkey has suffered other major earthquakes in recent years.

A magnitude-7.6 earthquake in Izmit killed more than 17,000 people in 1999, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A magnitude-7.2 tremor in Duzce the same year killed 894 people, the agency reported.

CNN's Diana Magnay contributed to this story

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
May 25, 2012 -- Updated 0458 GMT (1258 HKT)
Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng tells CNN about his departure from China and his continuing concern for family and friends.
May 24, 2012 -- Updated 1739 GMT (0139 HKT)
Given recent headlines, you could easily assume something more dramatic than a singing competition was about to descend on Azerbaijan.
May 25, 2012 -- Updated 1213 GMT (2013 HKT)
Formula One's 12 teams have struck an agreement to secure the future of the sport until 2020, Bernie Ecclestone has exclusively told CNN.
May 26, 2012 -- Updated 2013 GMT (0413 HKT)
It was one small interview for astronaut Neil Armstrong ... and one giant scoop for an Australian accountant, of all people.
May 24, 2012 -- Updated 2136 GMT (0536 HKT)
Bastoy prison is on an island in southern Norway. There are no fences or armed guards, and inmates hold the keys to locks.
May 24, 2012 -- Updated 1336 GMT (2136 HKT)
Stars from Barcelona FC will be encouraging reading as part of a project to give one million digital books to African children.
May 25, 2012 -- Updated 0823 GMT (1623 HKT)
We have mixed in the Duke of Edinburgh's gaffes among other famous faux pas. Take our quiz and see how many of Philip's gaffes you can spot.
May 24, 2012 -- Updated 1534 GMT (2334 HKT)
The deadly clashes that are a fact of daily life in Syria have now bled into Lebanon, where sectarian shootouts are raising fears of an end to calm.
May 24, 2012 -- Updated 0746 GMT (1546 HKT)
Eva Wu has kept her teenage son's room unchanged ever since he died last year. Now, she also keeps him close in the form of a diamond.
May 25, 2012 -- Updated 0331 GMT (1131 HKT)
Demonstrators say Twitter posts and Facebook groups brought them to the streets of Mexico's capital and cities around the country.
May 26, 2012 -- Updated 0946 GMT (1746 HKT)
Ben Wedeman explains how much has changed since the last presidential election, but much remains the same.
May 22, 2012 -- Updated 1416 GMT (2216 HKT)
In Delhi, where there are more elephants than Mormons, Manu Joseph explores India's U.S. election-envy and why a Republican is better for India.
May 25, 2012 -- Updated 1149 GMT (1949 HKT)
The wheels are coming off the wagon, says Richard Quest -- and Greece's membership of the eurozone is untenable under the current conditions.
May 22, 2012 -- Updated 1428 GMT (2228 HKT)
Why some observers believe that the full story of who destroyed a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie has still to be uncovered.
ADVERTISEMENT