Firefighters rescue elderly man trapped in earthquake debris

An elderly man was pulled out from the wreckage of a collapsed building on Wednesday, as search and rescue operation continues uninterruptedly in earthquake-hit region of southern Türkiye.

According to Tokat municipality, firefighters rescued 69-year-old Fahrettin Ozgil, who was trapped under the rubble for 57 hours in the Golbasi district of Adiyaman province.

A four-month-old girl was also rescued from the rubble Wednesday, more than two days after quakes hit Türkiye.

The girl named Ayse was rescued by teams in Hatay, one of 10 provinces hard-hit by the quakes earlier this week.

Ayse was transferred to the nearest hospital in Hatay.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes on Monday, which centered in the Kahramanmaras province and struck nine other provinces as well, has affected more than 13 million people.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

At least 8,574 people have been killed and 49,133 others injured in the quakes, while over 6,400 buildings are destroyed, according to Türkiye's disaster agency AFAD. More than 96,000 rescuers are involved in search and relief efforts.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who inspected relief efforts in Kahramanmaras on Wednesday, said all resources have been mobilized and the state is working with all its means to help the affected people.

A state of emergency was declared in the affected regions, and seven days of national mourning is being observed in the country.