The probability of finding survivors decreases with the passing of the hours in Turkey and Syria. Thousands of people were trapped under the rubble after the earthquakes (the first of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale) that shook these two Middle Eastern countries on Monday.
Pessimism invades the relatives of the disappeared, especially due to the complex rescue tasks. However, when survivors of the ruins appear, hope returns, especially when they are children. Days after hundreds of buildings collapsed, there are still cases of minor survivors being brought out unharmed, as is the case with little Yigit Cakmak.
The eight-year-old boy spent 52 hours in the rubble of a collapsed building in Turkey's southeastern Hatay province, until rescue teams were able to save him. Getty Images photographer Burak Kara captured a stream of photos of Yigit at the time; he was happy after being released and excited to meet again moments later with his mother, who was waiting at the place. He spent many hours asking for help.
Stories like Yigit's are fleeting joys in the midst of tragedy, small miracles that later go viral on social media. Cases such as a newborn baby who was still attached to her deceased mother by the umbilical cord or the girl protecting her little brother while waiting to be rescued are some of the most moving.
The death toll from the quakes topped 16,000 on Thursday. 72 hours after the catastrophe there is less and less faith in finding more survivors. Frustration reigns over the slowness in the distribution of aid.
On the ground, many people in Turkey and Syria spent a third night sleeping outdoors or in cars in sub-zero winter temperatures, their homes destroyed or so affected by quakes that they are too afraid to go back inside.
