Mom Breastfed Baby While Buried in Earthquake Rubble for 90 Hours, Says Her Son Helped Her Survive

The devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have wrecked the lives of many people. However, these days of despair have also seen instances of miracles. A mother and her 10-days-old child survived just on hope and breast milk for nearly four days while trapped under debris following the devastating earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria last week.

The woman, Necla Camuz, and her newborn baby, whom she had named, Yagiz which means the "brave one", were rescued from the rubble of the ruined building that used to be their home, more than 90 hours after the earthquake struck, according to Turkish state media.  

The mother, 33, and son were in their home in Turkey's Hatay province at the time and so were, Camuz's husband of six years, Irfan, and her 3-year-old son, Yigit Kerim, according to the BBC.

Before the earthquake, Camuz said, it used to be a "nice building." After the quake struck, Camuz was buried under the debris as she held Yagiz, who was lying on her chest. The two remained stuck for days under the five-story building, located in the town of Samandag."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 said. "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." She recalled, "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 mom of the newborn told the BBC she "was terrified" that no one would come to rescue them. In these tough times, where she could have lost all hope, she relied on Yagiz for hope and she credits him for saving her life. "I think if my baby hadn't been strong enough to handle this, I wouldn't have been either," she explained. Camuz made all possible efforts to seek help. At first, she tried to get the rescuers' attention by banging on a wardrobe that had saved their lives by coming between them and the concrete that would have crushed them.

Camuz still steered through the havoc they were in and continued to breastfeed her son as they waited for help. She had no access to food or water herself, as per the BBC.  As the hours and days passed, Camuz even tried to drink her own breast milk to survive. On the third day, Camuz suddenly heard dogs barking and voices approaching her way. Soon after, she was found and rescued. "I'm very happy he's a newborn baby and won't remember anything," she said. Camuz also found out when she reached the hospital that her husband, Irfan, and her three-year-old son, Yigit Kerim, had been rescued from the rubble as well. 

More than 35,000 people have died from last week's earthquake, according to NBC News. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called it "the disaster of the century."

This is a developing story, and we’ll update you as we learn more. Information about the earthquake is swiftly changing, and Women Working is committed to providing the most recent and verified updates in our articles and reportage. However, considering the frequency of developments, some of the information/data in this article may have changed since the time of publication.

References:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64620357

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-syria-earthquakes-death-toll-tops-35000-rcna70333

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Chris McGrath