A tiny earthquake survivor was reunited with her mother on Saturday, 54 days after being rescued from the rubble in quake-hit southern Türkiye.
Three-and-a-half-month-old Vetin Begdas – whom health officials call "Mystery" (Gizem in Turkish) – was saved in Hatay province 128 hours after the earthquakes struck the country on Feb. 6. She was then shifted to a hospital in the capital Ankara.
Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanık reunited the baby with her mother, Yasemin Begdas, in Adana province, where the latter receives medical treatment.
The baby and the mother were brought together thanks to a DNA test that proved the relationship. The baby's father and two brothers were among the over 50,000 killed in the disaster.
"The baby is truly a miracle. The fact that she survived and had no health problems pulled at our heartstrings," Yanık said.
"'Mystery' is now our baby too," she said, adding that the ministry's support will always be with her.
