CNN
A 17-year-old was dubbed the “miracle girl” when she was pulled alive from the rubble 248 hours after a fatal earthquake that ripped through southern Turkey, as rescue efforts shift to recovery operations ten days on from the disaster.
More than 42,000 people have died across Turkey and neighboring Syria following the powerful 7.8 magnitude quake on February 6, according to authorities. Efforts to retrieve survivors have been hampered by a cold winter spell across quake-stricken regions, while authorities grapple with the logistical challenges of transporting aid into northwestern Syria amid an acute humanitarian crisis compounded by years of political strife.
Earlier Thursday, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced an appeal for $1 billion in aid towards earthquake relief efforts in Turkey over the course of three months. It came two days after the UN launched a flash appeal for $397 million in earthquake aid for Syria, also covering a three-month period as humanitarian bodies stress the need for psychological and mental health services in the affected regions.
Turkey’s state news channel TRT Haber crew visited teenager Aleyna Ölmez in the hospital room after the rescue operation and talked to her and her doctors and family members. Speaking from her hospital bed, TRT Haber cameras showed Aleyna’s eyes open, her body covered up to her neck, and tubes inserted for oxygen supplements.
Alyena was taken directly to Kahramanmaraş Sutcu Imam University Faculty of Medicine after the rescue operation on Thursday.
A video showed Aleyna’s aunt and grandmother next to her bedside, touching her face and kissing her hands. When the TRT Haber correspondent reached out to Aleyna with a microphone asking how she was doing, Aleyna shook her head and smiled.
