On the 10th day after the deadly earthquakes when hopes for finding survivors are gradually fading away, a 42-year-old was rescued from mounts of concrete spurring a wave of positivity.
At the 222nd hour of the earthquake dubbed as "the disaster of the century," Melike Imamoğlu was pulled out of the rubble alive as a result of intense search and rescue efforts underway in the Onikişubat district of Kahramanmaraş.
According to the information received, it was determined that one person was alive during the search and rescue operations carried out in the wreckage of Özdemirler Apartment in Hayrullah District by the search and rescue teams from Bursa.
Hasan Kılınç, a member of the İnegöl Natural Disasters Search and Rescue Association (İNDAK) search and rescue team, told reporters: "We were there to identify four bodies. I suddenly bent down to assure my team if anyone was still there, it was then that I heard a groaning cry for help coming from the rubble. At first, I was scared, but then I was overjoyed. There she was, a 42-year-old woman who waited for a long time."
"Her hands were warm when we pulled her out; her happiness was indescribable," Kılınç shared.
İNDAK President Ömer Gürkan explained that "they formed a team in the morning and sent it to the field. The whole team entered the field when they heard a voice for help while they stayed extremely cautious not to cause any malfunctions."
Imamoğlu was subsequently handed over to medical teams after being given first aid.
