Man Rescued Alive After 278 Hours Under Rubble

A 45-year-old man who spent 278 hours buried under tonnes of concrete and steel after the Turkey earthquake razed his home is recovering in hospital.

Hakan Yasinoglu was relieved beyond words when rescue workers pulled him from the wreckage of his apartment building in Antakya District, Hatay Province.

Footage shows him wrapped in a thermal blanket on a stretcher as he is carefully carried away from the rubble and into the back of an ambulance on 17th February.

He was taken to Mersin City Hospital in Mersin Province, where, at the time of reporting, he remained.

Emergency medicine specialist Dr Tamer Colak told local media: “The patient has injuries to his legs. He also has lung injury. He is in a critical situation right now.

“We are working hard with our team to help him regain his health.”

Rescuers carry Hakan Yasinoglu on a stretcher in Hatay, Turkey, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. Hakan Yasinoglu was pulled under the rubble 278 hours after an earthquake hit Turkey. (@ekrem_imamoglu/Newsflash)

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the district of Pazarcik in Kahramanmaras Province at 4.17am on 6th February. It was felt in 10 more Turkish provinces.

Later that day, at 1.24pm, a 7.6-magnitude quake hit the district of Elbistan in Kahramanmaras Province and was followed by 6,212 aftershocks.

As per the latest update by the Disaster And Emergency Management Presidency, 41,020 have died in Turkey.

Along with the casualties in Syria, more than 46,000 people are confirmed dead.