Woman Trapped For 52 Hours Tells Rescuers ‘I Love You’

This is the heart-lifting moment when a woman freed from tonnes of rubble 52 hours after the Turkish earthquake tearfully tells her rescuers: “I love you.”

Footage of the rescue shows emergency workers in Hatay Province racing to free the woman from under a giant slab of concrete before it falls on top of them.

As the woman – wearing green, polka-dot pyjamas – is inched out of the wreckage, it becomes clear that she is wearing a neck brace.

Rescuers help her to her feet and she is able to take a few shaky steps.

Despite the race against time, her rescuers gently place her on a stretcher and carefully strap her in before she is taken to hospital for medical checks.

Rescuers pull out Semra Et from under rubble in Hatay, Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Thousands of people died and were injured as a result of a massive earthquake in Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (@kocaelibld/Newsflash)

And as they work around her, she can be heard saying: “Thank you so much. I love you all.”

At one point, she strokes the face of one of her rescuers as her tears well up at the relief of being safe.

Local media named her as Semra Et and said she was one of 32 saved by specialist search and rescue teams from Kocaeli.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Pazarcik, Kahramanmaras Province, at 4.17am on 6th February. It was felt in nine more provinces, including Hatay.

Rescuers pull out Semra Et from under rubble in Hatay, Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Thousands of people died and were injured as a result of a massive earthquake in Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (@kocaelibld/Newsflash)

Later that day, at 1.24pm, a 7.6-magnitude quake hit Elbistan, Kahramanmaras Province, and was followed by 1,117 aftershocks.

As per the latest update by the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, 12,873 have died and 62,937 are injured in Turkey.

Along with the casualties in northern Syria, at least 15,000 people are confirmed dead.