Boy rescued after 108 hours under Turkey quake rubble
ERCIS, Turkey, Oct 29, AFP
Rescuers Friday pulled a 12-year-old boy from the rubble of Turkey's
earthquake after being trapped for 108 hours, as the death toll in the
disaster rose to 576.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) meanwhile announced a multi-million euro appeal for help for
quake victims, expressing concern about the wintry conditions they were
facing.
The end of Ferhat Tokay's ordeal gave fresh hope to rescue crews who
have been working round the clock in sub-zero temperatures, but concerns
deepened about the plight of survivors.
Hopes of finding more people alive in the rubble had been fading fast
before the rescue of 18-year-old Imdat Padak late Thursday, followed a
few hours later by Ferhat.
Both were saved from the ruins of the worst-hit town of Ercis, where
scores of buildings collapsed.
Television footage showed a rescue worker shading Ferhat's eyes as he
was brought to the surface to protect him from the floodlights used by
the emergency teams.
Both of the young survivors were rushed to a field hospital in Ercis
and later airlifted by helicopter to nearby hospitals for further
treatment, media reports said.
Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said Friday emergency crews went
on to work on nine different sites in Ercis either to help survivors or
find bodies, Anatolia news agency reported.
According to the latest update from the government's emergency
service, 187 people have been pulled out alive from the debris.
The unit said that a total of 2,608 people had been injured by the
7.2 magnitude quake which ripped through eastern Van province.
Engineers from Istanbul University said the earthquake had shown up
often shoddy construction. Concrete mixed with too much sand taken from
riverbeds had contributed to making housing units unstable.
The quake, Turkey's worst in years, also killed a lot of livestock,
one of the region's main sources of income.
Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker said the government was distributing
livestock to villagers who had lost animals rather than compensating
them to ensure continued production, the NTV news channel reported.
Fresh snow and rain in Van province Friday ensured more misery for
survivors camping out in tents fearing more building collapses in
aftershocks, with some camps turned into mudbaths.
Atalay said all the urgent needs of quake survivors would be met by
Saturday evening.
President Abdullah Gul said an official reception Saturday marking
the 88th anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish republic had been
cancelled because of the disaster.
Complaints have mounted over the speed of the rescue effort in the
mainly Kurdish area. On Friday, soldiers started to accompany aid trucks
after locals and the Turkish Red Crescent complained that supplies had
been looted.
With Islam's Eid al-Adha festival of sacrifice coming on November 6,
the Turkish Red Crescent would distribute the meat of 500 cattle in the
region, Anatolia reported.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) on Friday announced a preliminary appeal for more than 10 million
Swiss francs ($11.4 million, 8.2 million euros) to help victims of the
quake.
"Many people are still missing and thousands are homeless," it said
in a statement.
"The freezing nights in the mountainous area surrounding the
epicentre in Van province are a source of great concern...," it added.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has admitted to failings in the
immediate aftermath of the earthquake but has since sent a quarter of
his cabinet to oversee operations in Van.
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