09 February 2023 , 11:22
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Dozens of orphaned babies who were rescued from the rubble in the aftermath of the earthquakes that rocked Turkey and Syria have been safely transported to Ankara on the President's jet.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's plane was used to carry 16 babies from Kahramanmaras to the Turkish capital following the devastating double-blow 7.8 and 7.5-magnitude quakes on Monday.
The President's plane has been put on standby to be used for earthquake-related operations including carrying medical teams and equipment to regions of the country.
As well as transporting critically injured people to the capital Ankara for treatment.
All 16 babies on board the flight were tragically found alone in the earthquake zones and were collected by their new foster mothers from Ministry of Family and Social Services, where they were then taken to Etlik City Hospital.
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Babies rescued from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Bitter sweet photos show the rescued babies bundled up in crocheted blankets and being individually held by the rescuers on the swish plane.
Two of the babies were removed from debris caused by the earthquake, meaning that they have yet to be identified.
The other 14 were being treated at hospitals in Kahramanmaras at the time of the quake but authorities are as yet unable to reach their families.
Turkiye declared 7 days of national mourning after deadly earthquakes in southern provinces (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Today, the combined death toll passed 16,000.
The provisional death toll in Syria reached 3,162, while Turkey’s disaster agency said the doll there had climbed to 12,873 overnight.
More than 60,000 people are reported injured in Turkey and more than 5,000 injured in Syria.
British rescue crews are still finding live victims in “survivable voids” created by the way buildings have collapsed, the head of the UK International Search and Rescue team in Turkey, David O’Neill, said.
He added: "We are still finding live victims. It is surprising, but it’s encouraging the way these buildings have collapsed.
16 babies, left unaccompanied due to earthquake transferred to Ankara for care (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)"The people that were recovered yesterday were very dehydrated, slightly hypothermic because of the extremely cold conditions here. They’re still alive."
But the World Health Organisation’s regional director for Europe has said the window to save victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria is “fast running out."
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Dr Hans Kluge told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that only 22 per cent of people trapped in rubble survive for 72 hours after an earthquake, and the percentage falls rapidly from then on.