2 Turkish children dug out alive from under rubble

ALBAWABA - Turkish search and rescue teams dug out two children in separate rescue operations from under piles of debris from toppled buildings in the southernmost province of Hatay on Sunday.

Omar, 8, and his mother were rescued after spending 150 hours trapped under dust and huge chunks of concrete from their apartments in buildings that toppled during a massive earthquake that struck the area on Monday.

Separately, the unidentified girl, 2, was dug out from another pile in another area.   

Rescue teams estimate that more than 28,000 were killed in the Turkey and Syria earthquake, while the United Nations warned that the number could double in the next two days.

Rescue teams said that the boy was dug out after they heard a "distress sound" early Sunday coming from under the rubble. Relief crews rushed to that specific pile and began removing rubble from the collapsed building in the city of Antakya.

Omar and his mother were pulled out alive from under the rubble and rushed to a nearby hospital.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted a short clip of the rescue operation involving the young girl, saying: "The first medical intervention for our little girl, who was rescued from the rubble in the 150th hour, was performed in our Hatay Field Hospital."

"As a paediatrician, we oversaw the process," he tweeted. "Our baby was sent to Adana by helicopter ambulance for treatment."

Turkey and Syria were struck by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that battered southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by another tremor with a magnitude of 7.6 a few hours later.

There were also dozens of aftershocks, which has resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries as well as significant damage to property and infrastructure in both countries.