Categories: World

Newborn baby rescued from rubble after Syria earthquake

Newborn baby rescued from rubble after Syria earthquake

A newborn baby was rescued from the rubble of his home in northern Syria, destroyed by the earthquake on Monday (6).

Her umbilical cord was still attached to her mother when she was found, a relative of the child told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Her mother is believed to have died after giving birth.

“We heard a voice while we were digging,” cousin Khalil al-Suwadi told AFP on Tuesday. “We dusted it off and found the baby with the umbilical cord [intacto]so we cut it and my cousin took her to the hospital.”

The girl receives treatment at a children’s hospital in the city of Afrin on Tuesday (7). Pediatrician Hani Maarouf told AFP she is stable but arrived with bruises, lacerations and hypothermia.

The baby is the only survivor of her immediate family, according to Suwadi. They lived in a five-story apartment building that was destroyed by the earthquake.

The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, hit the region of Turkey close to the border with Syria on Monday. At least 7,266 people died in both countries.

The death toll in Syria is already over 1,832. More than 1,020 people have been killed in opposition-held areas, according to the White Helmets, also known as the Syrian Civil Defense. In government-controlled areas, the death toll stands at 812, according to state news agency SANA.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said around 23 million people may have been affected by the powerful quake and the more than 120 aftershocks felt afterwards.

Source: CNN Brasil