Turkey-Syria earthquakes: Survivors still found in the rubble | DW News

Turkish search and rescue teams are still uncovering survivors of a deadly earthquake last week despite incredibly long odds of survival. On Wednesday morning, a 42-year-old woman was pulled alive in Kahramanmaras province, state broadcaster TRT reported. Melike Imamoglu had been under rubble for 222 hours, according to the TV report, though her rescue could not be independently verified. Turkish media has been inundated with reports on the things that those who were rescued have done to stay alive. Two brothers who were pulled from the collapsed debris Tuesday morning in Kahramanmaras latter told CNN Turk they had access to protein powder which they dissolved in their own urine and drank to survive. A Dutch team also announced the successful rescue of four people, three men and a child, in the city of Antakya in the Hatay region. A man and his son were rescued overnight whereas the other two were found late Tuesday. The Dutch team consists of 28 volunteers and nine sniffer dogs.

The Turkish government said it would demolish severely damaged buildings and begin the massive task of reconstruction. Over 50,000 buildings have either collapsed or sustained heavy damage during the earthquakes, officials said. Turkey's Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum tweeted, "We will quickly demolish what needs to be demolished and build safe houses." The government said in southern Hatay province, half the buildings collapsed or were so badly damaged that they will need to be torn down. At a news conference in Malatya, some 160 kilometers (100 miles) from where the earthquake struck, Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy urged people who could to return home once authorities deemed their place of residence safe so as "to start getting back to normal." Thousands of families have been left homeless and are struggling to survive despite freezing conditions.

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