Woman tells of Turkish collapse rescue
Surrounded by the stench of decaying bodies, Yasemin Yaprakci scraped her fingernails against the shattered concrete of her collapsed apartment building today, hoping to alert rescuers that she was buried under the pulverised wreckage.
“Water, water,” she cried out.
Moments later, rescuers began furiously pulling pieces of concrete away with their bare hands, struggling to remove her from the wreckage.
Some four hours later, Yaprakci was saved, after spending a week beneath the debris of an 11 storey Turkish apartment building which suddenly collapsed in Konya as more than 100 people inside were celebrating an Islamic holiday.
At least 88 people were killed in the collapse. To date, 29 people have been rescued.
Yaprakci, covered in a white film of dust that was mostly crushed concrete, was quickly rushed by helicopter to a military hospital in Ankara where she is in serious condition, suffering from gangrene, internal bleeding and broken ribs.
Rescue workers dug out 13 bodies Monday, increasing the death toll to 88, said Fahri Unver, a spokesman for the governor’s office in Konya.
Seven or eight bodies are still left under the rubble, Unver said.
Relief workers found Yaprakci close to the entrance of the building, where 10 other people are believed to have been crushed to death as they tried to escape.
“Her overall condition is not good at all, she has internal bleeding,” said Riza Saribabicci, the head physician of Konya Numune hospital. He said Yaprakci was suffering from gangrene and had broken ribs.
Rescuers were first alerted that someone was under the wreckage by Ledi, a Labrador rescue dog.
“We first thought Ledi found new corpses, but it kept jumping excitedly,” said Sergeant Ergun Ucuncu.
Rescuers then heard a weak voice crying out ‘water, water,’ said Serdar Demirel, who was part of the team.
Another relief worker, Niyazi Ozbek, said Yaprakci “helped us find her location by making noise with her nails against the concrete.”
Yaprakci at first seemed to be in good condition and even joked with her rescuers while trapped.
“I will invite you over for a tea, just get me out of here,” Ozbek said.
Rescuers struggled for four hours to free her from the rubble as Yaprakci’s legs were trapped underneath a dead person. Two other dead people lay nearby Yaprakci, who had trouble breathing and was given oxygen during her rescue.
Before she was pulled from the rubble, she spoke briefly with her husband, Halil, by radio.
“I’m fine, don’t worry,” said said before being carried on a stretcher from the rubble, an IV in her arm.
Rescue workers cheered and applauded, hugging each other in joy.
On Sunday, rescue teams pulled a 16-year-old boy from the debris, a teenager who survived almost six days under the rubble shrouded in pulverised concrete that kept him warm.
Muhammet Kalem was the first survivor to be pulled from the wreckage in five days. His mother and brother were found dead in the rubble today.
Yaprakci’s survival without food or water for almost seven days was extraordinary. Most people can survive only about two days without water.
Doctors said Kalem was able to survive so long because he slept most of the time and did not struggle, which reduced his need for water. Yaprakci also reportedly did the same.
Officials have blamed the collapse on shoddy construction and a Turkish court on Friday charged two contractors with negligence for ignoring building codes.
