Logo

A toddler found trapped beneath a collapsed apartment building has been rescued following a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on Friday in Turkey.

The 3-year-old — who has been identified as Elif Perincek — was pulled more than 65 hours after the quake struck the western Turkish town of Izmir, where Monday’s dramatic rescue took place. Perincek’s mother Seher Dereli Perincek and a pair of twin siblings, 10, were saved 42 hours earlier. Another sibling, 7, did not survive.

Crowds and first responders cheered as they pulled the little girl from beneath the heap, as seen in smartphone footage captured by an onlooker, Reuters reported. Perincek was briefly treated at the scene then transported to a local hospital, according to Turkish state news service Anadolu.

Firefighter Muammer Celik said the girl tenaciously grasped his finger as soon as she could reach, and did not let go until they arrived at the first-aid tent.

“That child deserves to live to the end,” Celik told reporters.

A dog was also rescued alive from under the rubble at another apartment, and a 14-year-old girl who was trapped under the building was rescued after 58 hours.

At least 76 have died as a result of last week’s natural disaster, Reuters reported, while 962 victims have reported injuries, including more than 100 who have been dug out from the debris. On Sunday, a 70-year-old man also in Izmir, on the coast of the Aegean Sea where the quake originated, had to be pulled from building wreckage.

“I never lost hope,” the man reportedly said.

Izmir mayor Tunc Soyer confirmed at least 20 buildings went down during the event.

1 of 9
Rescued 3-year-old girl buried in earthquake rubble
via REUTERS
post-earthquake rubble in Turkey
AFP via Getty Images
Advertisement
Rescued 3-year-old girl buried in earthquake rubble
AP
Elif Perincek, a three-year-old survivor, holding the thumb of a rescue worker as she is carried out of a collapsed building after an earthquake in the Aegean port city of Izmir. - Rescue workers were searching eight buildings in Izmir despite dwindling hope for survivors, as the death toll of a powerful magnitude earthquake which hit western Turkey rose to 69. The 7.0-magnitude quake has also injured 896 in Turkey, the Turkish emergency authority AFAD said, after striking on October 30, afternoon near the west coast town of Seferihisar in Izmir province.
AFP via Getty Images
Rescued 3-year-old girl buried in earthquake rubble
EPA
Advertisement
post-earthquake rubble in Turkey
AFP via Getty Images
Advertisement

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy