77-year-old woman rescued more than week after Turkey earthquake

• Rescuers are still pulling people from the rubble of a powerful earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
• Two brothers, two men, and a woman were also rescued on Tuesday.
• Freezing temperatures in the earthquake zone may be extending survival times.

Rescuers were still pulling people from the rubble more than nine days after a powerful earthquake shook Turkey and Syria, defying predictions that the time for survival had passed.

The Turkish Ministry of National Defense released video on Wednesday showing rescuers extricating a 77-year-old woman from debris in the city of Adiyaman on Tuesday, 212 hours after the earthquake struck.

Fatma Gungor, according to Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu, was saved and hugged by her family.

Then, according to Turkey’s state television  another woman, 45-year-old Melike mamolu, was rescued after 222 hours in rubble in the city of Kahramanmaras.

Previously, teams in southern Turkey reported hearing the voices of trapped survivors.

According to a state broadcaster emergency personnel saved a 35-year-old woman who had been buried for approximately 205 hours in the same region. Two brothers, two men, and a woman were also rescued on Tuesday, eight days after the earthquake.

A known journalist from reputed media, who is in Turkey’s Hatay province, says it’s unusual for people to survive more than 100 hours trapped under rubble; most are rescued within 24 hours.

He does, however, believe that freezing temperatures in the earthquake zone may be extending survival times for prople trapped

“The cold weather is a double edged sword. On the one hand, it makes it very difficult, it is below freezing right now… On the other hand, it may reduce the demands for water. Perhaps that is playing into this,” he said

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