Miraculous recovery of 3-year-old girl from Turkey earthquake rubble brings firefighter to tears
Storm Gifford
A Turkish firefighter who recovered a 3-year-old girl trapped underneath earthquake rubble for nearly three days is calling it a miracle.
The Oct. 30 tremor, which registered a harrowing 6.6 on the Richter Scale, killed nearly 100 victims in Turkey and Greece.
Firefighter Muammer Celik thought he had found another fatality — a 3-year-old girl trapped amid the debris of her apartment complex in the coastal city of Izmir.
He assumed the girl, who was lying motionless and covered in dust, was dead and even asked for a corpse bag.
But as Celik was wiping her face, the girl opened her eyes and grabbed his thumb.
Elif Perincek rests in her hospital bed after she was rescued in Izmir, Turkey.
Elif Perincek rests in her hospital bed after she was rescued in Izmir, Turkey.
The little girl, identified as Elif Perincek, was reportedly lying on her back between her bed and a closet.
Her mother and two sisters — 10-year-old twins — were rescued two days earlier than her but her 6-year-old brother tragically died, according to The AP.
“At first, I was very upset,” explained Celik. “Then I stretched out my hand to clean her face and she grabbed my thumb. . . . I froze because right before that moment I had asked my team for a blanket and body bag. This is a firefighter’s joy.”
The find of little Elif was the second amazing dramatic rescue on Monday. Earlier that day, a 14-year-old boy named Idil Sirin was extricated from rubble.
Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
People watch the members of rescue services as they search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Members of rescue services carry the body of a child from the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Local residents, staying outdoors for fear of aftershocks, watch as members of rescue services search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
The interior of a destroyed living room of a family flat is seen after the building collapsed in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca speaks with Ahmet Citim, rescued from the debris of his collapsed house, in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. In the latest of series of remarkable rescues after the Friday afternoon earthquake, rescue workers extricated the 70-year-old man from the collapsed building earlier on Sunday, some 34 hours after the strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea struck Turkey and Greece, killing dozens of people and injuring scores of others.
An imam, wearing a protective mask to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, prays on the graves of Hatice Dogruya, and her husband Bayram, both killed at their house when it collapsed after the earthquake, following the funeral procession in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Local residents look at destroyed buildings in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. Rescue teams on Saturday plowed through concrete blocs and debris of eight collapsed buildings in Turkey's third-largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey's Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, killing dozens of people. Hundreds of others were injured.
Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Members of rescue services with sniffer dogs search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue plowing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey's third-largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey's Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday, Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.
People react as the members of rescue services carry the body of a child from the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Local residents stay outdoors for fear of strong aftershocks after the earthquake collapsed their houses and watch rescue workers trying to reach survivors, in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Mourners, wearing protective masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, cover the graves of Bayram Dogruya, and his wife Hatice, both killed at their house when it collapsed after the earthquake, following a funeral procession in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Mourners pray next to graves, prepared for the victims of the earthquake, during the funeral procession for Hatice Dogruya and her husband Bayram, both killed at their house when it collapsed after the earthquake, in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey's third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey's Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday, Oct. 30, killing dozens and hundreds of others were injured.
Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Local residents stay outdoors for fear of strong aftershocks after an earthquake collapsed their houses, in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. The strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea struck Turkey and Greece on Friday.
In this photo provided by Turkey's IHH humanitarian aid group, members of the group join rescue operations searching for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, early Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Members of rescue services carry a body of a victim from the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Members of rescue services search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. A strong earthquake struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing several people and injuring hundreds amid collapsed buildings and flooding.
Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, early Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Members of security officers walk by the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Photo taken with a drone shows rescue workers trying to save residents trapped in the debris of a collapsed building, in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
In this photo provided by Turkey's IHH humanitarian aid group, members of the group join rescue operations searching for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, early Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Local residents, staying outdoors for fear of aftershocks, sit in a coffee shop in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Rescue workers try to save residents trapped in the debris of a collapsed building, in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Members of rescue services remove a body of a victim from the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, early Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Members of rescue services search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Rescue workers try to save residents trapped in the debris of a collapsed building, in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
In this photo provided by Turkey's IHH humanitarian aid group, local residents watch as members of rescue operations search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, early Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted that both Elif and 14-year-old Idil were doing well.
In Izmir, where hundreds of people were injured, residents cheered and wept tears of joy after both recoveries, according to The AP.
The AP did report, however, that two teens died and 19 people were hurt on the Greek island of Samos, in proximity of the quake’s epicenter in the Aegean Sea.
