First lady Emine Erdoğan on Wednesday visited quake-affected babies, brought to Ankara Etlik City Hospital from Kahramanmaraş and its neighboring provinces after devastating earthquakes shook 10 provinces in the country’s south.
Erdoğan was the first visitor of the 16 babies, aged 0-1 and without relatives, flown to the capital via the presidential plane.
“They are in the safe hands of our state. I will continue to follow the progress of our babies under care. I wish good for every child affected by the disaster, and wish a speedy recovery to our injured babies,” Erdoğan wrote on social media.
Coordinator Chief Physician Bülent Güngörer told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the babies underwent their first treatment and that no problem was found, while premature babies would remain in intensive care observation.
Güngörer further mentioned that more than 1,000 patients have been brought to Ankara from the earthquake-hit areas.
“We received over 200 patients by air ambulance at both Bilkent City Hospital and Etlik City Hospital. At the same time, we have more than 700 patients who arrived by standard ambulance, and as outpatients,” the doctor added, saying that 180 patients, 36 of whom are children, are currently in the intensive care unit.
“Eight of these patients are being followed up with a ventilator. Their situation is getting better every day, I hope they will get better," he noted.
