Turkish official media reported that a couple and their son were rescued alive from under a collapsed residential building after more than 12 days since a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, although the child later died in the hospital. A foreign search team from Kyrgyzstan rescued 49-year-old Samir Muhammad Akar, his 40-year-old wife Raghda, and their 12-year-old son while digging through the rubble in the city of Antakya in southern Turkey, according to Turkey's Anadolu Agency.
They were retrieved around 11:30 AM local time (8:30 AM GMT), or 296 hours after the February 6 earthquake, and were quickly transported to ambulances. Television footage showed rescuers administering an IV solution to the man's arm as he lay on a stretcher. A rescuer stated that the team also found the bodies of two children. Anadolu Agency later reported that they were the children of Samir and Raghda.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, during a visit to Antakya, the capital of Hatay province, stated that the father was conscious and receiving treatment at Mustafa Kemal University Hospital. Anadolu Agency published pictures of American television personality and former U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz visiting the recovering man. Regarding their conversation, Anadolu reported that Samir Muhammad Akar recounted how he survived the ordeal by drinking his urine. He also told Oz that his children had responded to his voice in the first two or three days, but he had not heard anything from them afterward.
Hatay province, where Antakya is located, was one of the most affected areas by the earthquake that claimed the lives of at least 40,642 people in Turkey and 3,688 in Syria. Search and rescue operations continue in Turkey, although the head of the country's disaster response agency said they would conclude on Sunday.
