2-week old baby rescued after Turkish quake

The rescued two-week old Azra Karaduman being cuddled by a recue team member

2-week old baby rescued after Turkish quake

A 2-week-old baby girl, her mother, and Grand-mother were pulled alive from the rubble of an apartment building on Tuesday in a dramatic rescue nearly 48 hours after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake toppled some 2,000 buildings in eastern Turkey.

Rescue efforts

Television footage showed a rescuer in orange jumpsuits applauding as the baby, Azra Karaduman, was removed from the wreckage.

A rescuer cradled the naked infant, who was wrapped in a blanket and handed over to a medic.

The baby's mother and grandmother were pulled, some hours apart, from the flattened building.

The father was also said to be in the rubble, but it was unclear if he survived.

Rescuers in Ercis, the hardest-hit city, and the provincial capital, Van, were racing to free dozens of people trapped inside mounds of concrete, twisted steel and construction debris.

Survivors

At least seven people were pulled from the rubble alive on Tuesday, although many more bodies were discovered.

Nine-year-old Oguz Isler was trapped for eight hours beneath a relative's home in Ercis where he was finally rescued.

His parents and relatives however remained buried beneath the building.

The city, which has a population of 75,000 people, close to Iran border, lies in one of Turkey's most earthquake-prone zones.

Call for more detective dogs

Turkish rescue workers in bright orange overalls and Azerbaijani military rescuers in camouflage uniforms searched through the debris, using excavators, picks and shovels to look for survivors.

Dogs sniffed for possible survivors in gaps that opened up as their work progressed.

“They should send more people”, Oguz said as he and other family members watched the rescuers.

Mehmet Ali Hekimoglu, a medic, said the dogs indicated that there were three or four people inside the building, but it was not known if they were alive.

Co-ordinated response

The government's response to the quake appeared to be well-coordinated because of the country's vast experience in dealing with killer quakes and their aftermaths.

Hundreds of rescue teams throughout Turkey were said to have rushed to the area, while Turkish Red Crescent dispatched tents and blankets and set up soup kitchens.

There was still no power or running water and aid distribution was at times disrupted as desperate people stopped trucks even before they entered Ercis, leading some residents to complain that they could not get tents and stoves for their families.

"The aid is coming in but we're not getting it. We need more police, soldiers; people from nearby towns and villages stop the aid trucks on the road and loot tents and stoves", resident Baran Gungor said. "

Temporary homes

The government said it would set up temporary homes and would begin planning to rebuild destroyed areas with better housing. Turks across the country began sending blankets and warm clothing.

Authorities have warned survivors of the quake that killed at least 370 people not to enter damaged buildings and thousands spent a second night outdoors in cars or tents in near-freezing conditions, afraid to return to their homes.

However, while hundreds of tents were erected in two stadiums to house the Turks, many preferred to stay close to their homes for news of the missing or to keep watch on damaged buildings.

Some 1,300 people were reported injured.

New tremors were reported late Tuesday as rescuers continued their search for more possible survivors.

AP/Shakira/Ekata