Video: Newborn saved from the rubble of earthquake in Syria where her mother died after giving birth
RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images
- A pregnant mother gave birth to a baby during the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Syria.
- The mother died, but the baby survived after being rescued from the rubble.
- According to AFP, the baby was still attached to its mother's umbilical cord when rescuers arrived.
A pregnant mother gave birth to her child while trapped under rubble in the Afrin district of Syria's Aleppo governorate after a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the country and parts of Turkey on Monday, local activists said, per CBS News.
The mother, who was originally displaced from Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor region, went into labor during the earthquake, MailOnline reported. She died before rescuers were able to save her, the newspaper said.
The baby, however, miraculously survived. According to a cousin who spoke to Agence France-Presse, the child is the lone survivor in its immediate family. The baby is receiving medical care in Afrin, the news agency said.
AFP reported that the baby was still tied to its mother's umbilical cord when rescuers arrived.
A video shared on social media shows rescuers pulling the newborn from the rubble. It shows a man carrying the baby from the ruins of devastated buildings, stepping over rubble and barbed wire, as a crowd watches on.
Another man can be seen throwing a dusty blanket as part of the rescue effort.
—Talha Ch (@Talhaofficial01) February 6, 2023
Elsewhere in Syria, another rescue operation resulted in another young child who was trapped under rubble being saved, The Telegraph reported.
Ahmed, a displaced child of four or five years old, was extracted from the ruins of his home in the village of Qatma, according to a video shared by the Syrian volunteer organization The White Helmets.
—The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) February 6, 2023
Other children were not so lucky. The United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, said on Tuesday that the earthquake and aftershocks may have killed "thousands" of children.
The total death toll from the earthquake is now at more than 5,000 people, with at least 15,000 injured in Turkey and Syria, The Times of London reported.
According to the World Health Organization, up to 23 million people could be affected by the earthquake, citing the damage to civilian and health infrastructure.