The mother gave birth to the baby after the earthquake, but she didn’t survive
On Monday February 6, a massive earthquake hit Syria. Buildings were destroyed and people were stuck under the rubble for days. A mother went into labour shortly after the earthquake hit and gave birth to a little baby girl. The mother died after giving birth to her but the baby was successfully pulled from the rubble and has been reunited with her aunt and uncle.
Rescued
On February 6, disaster hit Syria and Turkey. Because of two massive earthquakes, buildings in the countries collapsed, leaving millions of people without a home and thousands of people stuck underneath the rubble. The death toll is still rising and rescue workers are debating whether they should stop looking for survivors. Luckily, there have been some incredible rescue stories.
When Khalil al-Suwadi learned that the building that his sister in law was in had collapsed, he rushed over there to help. “We heard a voice while we were digging,” Al-Suwadi told AFP. “We cleared the dust and found the baby with the umbilical cord [intact], so we cut it and my cousin took her to hospital.” The baby was in a bad condition. According to BBC, the pediatrician said that the baby had “… several bruises and lacerations over all her body. She also arrived with hypothermia because of the harsh cold. We had to warm her up and administer calcium.”
Adoption
The baby’s mother, siblings and father didn’t survive the disaster. But her uncle and aunt welcomed her into their family. Al-Suwadi told Reuters: “This girl means so much to us because there’s no-one left of her family besides this baby. She’ll be a memory for me, for her aunt and for all of our relatives in the village of her mother and father.” The baby has been named Afraa, after her mother. After she was rescued, Syrian officials called her ‘Aya’ (‘miracle’ in Arabic). Afraa has been discharged from the hospital and is doing good. Khalil al Suwadi told Associated Press: “She is one of my children now. I will not differentiate between her and my children.”
Read more: Girl was rescued from rubble after being trapped for over 7 days
Source: BBC | Image: Unsplash, Garrett Jackson