Syria earthquake: newborn girl pulled alive from rubble, umbilical cord still attached
- The infant’s mother was killed in the 7.8-magnitude disaster along with all other members of her immediate family
- Viral footage of the rescue shows a man sprinting from a collapsed four-storey building clutching a tiny baby covered in dust
Extended family members pulled a newborn baby alive from the rubble of a home in northern Syria – after finding her still tied by her umbilical cord to her mother, who died in Monday’s massive quake, a relative said.
The infant is the sole survivor of her immediate family, the rest of whom were all killed when the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck Syria and neighbouring Turkey flattened the family home in the rebel-held town of Jindayris, Khalil al-Suwadi said.
“We heard a voice while we were digging,” Suwadi said on Tuesday. “We cleared the dust and found the baby with the umbilical cord [intact] so we cut it and my cousin took her to hospital.”
Video of the rescue went viral on social media.
The footage shows a man sprinting from the rubble of a collapsed four-storey building clutching a tiny baby covered in dust.