Turkey: Quake victim, dog reunited after 65 hours

IZMIR, Turkey

A victim of last week’s magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Izmir, Turkey was reunited early Monday with her dog when it was rescued after being trapped 65 hours beneath the rubble.

Around 10 hours after the quake on Friday, Gizem Ileri was rescued from the debris by a team of volunteers who also saved her dog Ares.

Ahmet Celik, a volunteer from Turkish NGO the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), told Anadolu Agency that they realized the dog was there while they were searching for survivors in the rubble.

“When we rescued Ares from under the rubble, we handed him over to a veterinary physician. At the time, Gizem, who was rescued from the debris earlier, was also there,” Celik said.

Noting that Ileri was waiting for the moment that her dog would be rescued, Celik said she was extremely happy to see Ares.

“It is a very different feeling to rescue someone alive from the debris. It is a source of great happiness to save a living thing from the debris, regardless of whether it is a human, cat or dog,” he said.

He said Ares’ rescue has also become a source of hope for saving other lives under the rubble.

On Friday, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake jolted Izmir, Turkey’s third largest city, with a population of around 4.37 million.

The death toll from the quake, which rattled the Aegean region, has risen to 95, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said Monday.

So far, 106 people have been pulled alive from the rubble as search and rescue activities continue.

The latest figures come after three-year-old Elif Perincek was pulled from the debris in Bayrakli district Monday, nearly 65 hours after the quake.

Earlier, a 14-year-old girl was recovered from the rubble 58 hours after the temblor. After receiving first aid, Idil Sirin was taken to a local hospital.

Turkey is among the world's most seismically active zones as it is situated on several active fault lines. It has also suffered devastating earthquakes in the past.

*Writing by Sena Guler