Mother Trapped in Quake Rubble Gives Birth

Sadly, the mother died after earthquake in Syria, but her newborn was rescued
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2023 11:15 AM CST
Mother Trapped in Quake Rubble Gives Birth
A baby girl who was born under the rubble caused by an earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey receives treatment inside an incubator at a children's hospital in the town of Afrin, Syria, on Tuesday.   (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Thousands are dead after a devastating earthquake that wreaked havoc in Turkey and Syria, but there are small pieces of good news amid the carnage. First, a toddler was pulled out of the rubble Monday in the Syrian city of Azaz; that was followed by the rescue of a 14-year-old "miracle" boy in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras. Video of other such rescues are also circulating. Now, the youngest survivor of all, though she comes with a sad coda: CBS News reports that a pregnant woman in labor and trapped under a collapsed building in Aleppo, Syria, gave birth under the rubble, before rescuers could reach her.

The Telegraph shows some of the dramatic footage of the moment the dust-covered baby is rescued and whisked away to safety. The Independent reports that the mother didn't survive. An AFP reporter, who noted the baby girl had still been attached to her mother via the umbilical cord when she was rescued, posted a photo of the chubby infant with dark hair, cleaned up and lying safely in a hospital incubator. The death toll from the quake, meanwhile, has climbed past 5,000. (More Turkey-Syria earthquake stories.)

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