"Trapped in Earthquake Debris, Pleading 'Save Me' via SNS... Rescued After 6 Hours"

"SNS Helped Us Escape"
Death Toll from Turkey and Syria Earthquake Exceeds 7,800

As the earthquake that struck southern Turkey and Syria caused a surge in fatalities, a university student was rescued after sending a distress call via social media while trapped under building debris.

According to local media such as Haberturk TV on the 7th (local time), Boran Kubat (20), a university student living in Malatya, an eastern city of Turkey, sent a rescue request through social media while trapped under building rubble with his family due to the earthquake.

On the 6th (local time), rescue workers are searching for missing persons among the building debris collapsed by an earthquake in the Iskenderun district of Hatay Province, southern Turkey. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The building where Kubat lived with his family eventually collapsed due to the strong earthquake and continuous aftershocks. As a result, Kubat, his mother, uncle, and grandmother were buried under the collapsed building debris. To request help, Kubat posted a video on Meta's chat app WhatsApp.

In the video, he said, "Anyone who sees this WhatsApp message, please help us. Please save us," adding, "My mother is okay. We are on the second floor of the apartment building. I can't hear my uncle's voice well."

The video quickly spread on social media, and after about six hours, Kubat and his mother were rescued when his friends informed rescue teams of his location. However, his grandmother and uncle have not yet been rescued.

Kubat said, "When the earthquake happened, my phone was next to me, so I decided to post the video on social media. That was how we escaped," adding, "I thought if I shared this scene on social media and all my friends could see the video, they would help."

Meanwhile, the death toll from this earthquake is reported to have exceeded 7,800. According to AFP and other sources, the magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes that occurred on the 6th resulted in 5,894 deaths and more than 34,000 injuries in Turkey. In Syria, at least 1,932 people have been confirmed dead. These figures only account for confirmed fatalities so far.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the death toll could continue to rise by thousands and estimated that, in the worst case, the number of deaths from this earthquake could exceed 20,000.