Turkey earthquake: Being buried alive with my newborn son

It has been a week since a deadly earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, killing thousands. But amid the despair, there have been stories of “miracles”. This is one of them.

When Necla Camuz gave birth to her second son on 27 January, she named him Yagiz, meaning “brave one”.

Just 10 days later, at 04:17 local time, Necla was awake feeding her son at their home in southern Turkey’s Hatay province. Moments later, they were buried under mounds of rubble.

Necla and her family lived on the second floor of a modern five-storey building in the town of Samandag. It was a “nice building”, she says, and she had felt safe there.

She did not know that morning that the area would be torn apart by the earthquake, with buildings damaged and destroyed at every turn.

“When the earthquake started, I wanted to go to my husband who was in the other room, and he wanted to do the same thing,” she says.

“But as he tried to come to me with our other son, the wardrobe fell onto them and it was impossible for them to move.

“As the earthquake got bigger, the wall fell, the room was shaking, and the building was changing position. When it stopped, I didn’t realize that I had fallen one floor down. I shouted their names but there was no answer.”

The 33-year-old found herself lying down with her baby on her chest, still held in her arms. A fallen wardrobe next to her saved their lives by preventing a large slab of concrete from crushing them.

The pair would remain in this position for almost four days.

When she got to the hospital, Necla was greeted by family members who told her that her husband of six years, Irfan, and her three-year-old son, Yigit Kerim, had been rescued from the rubble.

But they had been transferred hours away to a hospital in Adana province, having sustained serious injuries to their legs and feet.

Remarkably, Necla and Yagiz had suffered no serious physical injuries. They were kept in the hospital for 24 hours for observation before being discharged.

Necla had no home to return to, but a family member brought her back to a makeshift blue tent crafted from wood and tarpaulin. There are 13 of them there in total – all have lost their homes.

In the tent, the family support each other, making pots of coffee over a small stove, playing chess and sharing stories.

Necla is “trying” to come to terms with what happened to her. She says she owes Yagiz for saving her life.

“I think if my baby hadn’t been strong enough to handle this, I wouldn’t have been either,” she explains.

Her only dream for her son is that he never experiences anything like this again.

“I’m very happy he’s a newborn baby and won’t remember anything,” she says.

As a call comes in Necla grins. From a hospital bed Irfan and Yigit Kerim smile and wave.

“Hi warrior, how are you, my son?” Irfan asks his baby through the screen.

Source: BBC