‘Death comes at a time when one least expects it’: Turkish teen captures hearts of a nation with emotional goodbye video from the rubble before he’s pulled alive hours later – as others survive being buried for more than 11 days after huge earthquake
- Taha Erdem, 17, and his family were buried under their apartment in Adiyaman
- Facing almost certain death, Taha cut a poised and touching video on his phone
- He was later pulled out alive, one of many inspiring stories of miraculous rescues
A 17-year-old high school student has captured Turkish hearts after filming a touching farewell message to his loved ones from under the rubble amid this month’s terrifying earthquake.
Taha Erdem and his family were fast asleep when a 7.8 magnitude quake hit their hometown of Adiyaman in the early hours of Feb. 6.
Within 10 seconds their apartment block collapsed and entombed Taha, his mother, father, younger brother and sister under mounds of debris.
He found himself alone and trapped, with waves of powerful aftershocks shifting the detritus and squeezing his space amid the mangled mess of concrete and twisted steel.
But instead of panicking, Taha pulled out his smartphone and cut a remarkably calm and stoic video in which he bid his friends ad family goodbye, spoke of his regrets, and accepted his seemingly bleak fate with incredible grace.
In this screenshot taken from video, Taha Erdem, 17, records himself using his smartphone as he is trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building
Taha Erdem, 17, centre, his mother Zeliha Erdem, left, and father Ali Erdem pose for a photograph next to the destroyed building where Tahan was trapped after the earthquake of Feb. 6, in Adiyaman, Turkey, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023
Taha Erdem, 17, right, his mother Zeliha Erdem, left, and father Ali Erdem stand next to the debris from a building where Tahan was trapped after the earthquake of Feb. 6, in Adiyaman, Turkey
‘I think this is the last video I will ever shoot for you,’ he said from the crawl space, his phone shaking in his hand as tremors rocked the collapsed building.
READ MORE: Drone pictures reveal scene of devastation at the ruins of luxury apartment block in Turkey where former Chelsea star Christian Atsu was found dead following earthquake
‘We are still shaking. Death, my friends, comes at a time when one is least expecting it.’ says Taha, before reciting a Muslim prayer in Arabic.
‘There are many things that I regret. May God forgive me of all my sins. If I get out of here alive today there are many things that I want to do. We are still shaking, yes. My hand isn’t shaking, it’s just the earthquake.’
The teen goes on to recount that he believes his family are dead, along with many others in the city, and that he will soon join them.
But Taha was destined to be among some of the first saved from the destroyed building. He was pulled from the rubble two hours later by neighbours and taken to an aunt’s home.
Ten hours after the quake, his parents and siblings were also saved by local residents who dug at the wreck of the building with their bare hands and whatever tools they could find.
His family are now living in a government-provided tent, along with hundreds of thousands of others who survived the disaster that hit southern Turkey and north Syria, killing more than 46,000.
The story of the Erdem family is one of many emotional tales of human fortitude to emerge from the widespread disaster area.
Though tens of thousands of people have been lost to the quake, inspiring and heartwarming stories of miraculous rescues have shone through the sorrow.
Earlier this week, a 17-year-old girl was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in southern Turkey an eye-watering 248 hours after she was buried in rubble.
The scarcely believable rescue of Aleyna Olmez transpired in the southern province of Kahramanmaras, which was close to the epicentre of the 7.8 magnitude quake that erupted last Monday and demolished hundreds of square miles of territory.
Experts say that the overwhelming majority of survivors are rescued within 72 hours of the disaster. After three days, the survival rate drops drastically as those buried under mountains of debris succumb to dehydration, asphyxiation or injuries sustained amid the tremor.
But the teenager miraculously endured ten whole days of being entombed under tonnes of concrete and twisted metal.
Aleyna Olmez was somehow pulled from the rubble alive after ten days trapped underground
Aleyna Olmez is rushed to a medical centre with oxygen, IV drips and a spinal stabilisation device
17 year-old girl Aleyna Olmez rescued from the rubbles of collapsed Atabey Apartment in Kayabasi neighbourhood 248 hours after a 7.8 magnitude quake demolished much of southern Turkey and northern Syria
The teenager miraculously endured ten whole days of being entombed under tonnes of concrete and twisted metal
An aerial view shows a tractor working on removing debris from a collapsed building in the Syrian rebel-held town of Jinderis on February 15, 2023
Her incredible rescue was conducted in an area described by a British aid volunteer as looking like a ‘zombie apocalypse’, where a potent stench of death hangs in the air.
She was barely clinging to life when rescuers found her, and was extracted with an oxygen mask, IV fluids and a spinal stabilisation stretcher.
When asked about her ordeal during recovery, Olmez simply said: ‘I tried to pass the time on my own.’
On Friday, a father was introduced to his newborn daughter for the first time after somehow enduring eleven days trapped under the rubble in Antayka, Turkey.
Mustafa Avci, 33, was rescued alongside Mehmet Ali Sakiroglu, 26, on Friday after having spent 261 hours buried beneath layers of debris.
Against all the odds, they survived long enough to be found and rescued, and for Avci to meet his baby daughter.
Pictures from the hospital show his wife Bilge presenting baby Almile to her father for the first time. Avci is seen kissing his daughter’s head, while lying back on a hospital bed – still hooked up to various medical tubes.
Incredible footage of his rescue in Hatay Province showed how he was still able to speak on the phone while wrapped in a thermal blanket and wearing a neck brace. In the clip, he is heard speaking excitedly on a mobile phone to his relative.
This is the tender moment a father is introduced to his newborn daughter for the first time after spending eleven days under earthquake rubble in Turkey
Pictures from the hospital show his wife Bilge presenting baby Almile to her father Mustafa Avci, 33, for the first time. Avci is seen in pictures kissing his daughter’s head, while lying back on a hospital bed while still hooked up to various medical tubes
Mustafa Avci (pictured), 33, was rescued alongside Mehmet Ali Sakiroglu, 26. The pair became trapped when the health centre they were in collapsed on February 6, as south-west Turkey and parts of Syria were devastated two powerful quakes
‘Fahri, how are you?’ Avci is heard asking, as a rescuer holds the phone to his face. ‘How are you my dear brother?’
The relative is heard saying, in desbelief: ‘Brother? Where are you?’
‘I am fine. I have no problems. I think I am at [the] training and research hospital. They will direct me where ever is suitable. I have no problems,’ Avci tells the man, who is heard crying on the other end of the telephone.
‘What are my parents doing? Have they all been rescued?’ Avci asks selflessly.
‘They are all good. They are waiting for you,’ the relative responds, as Avci kisses the hand of the rescuer holding the phone, thanking him. ‘May God bless you a thousand times, brother! May God always help you in need!’ he says to the man.
Also in Antayka, one grandfather told how he survived nearly eight days buried in the rubble of his home after Turkey’s devastating earthquake by drinking his own urine.
Hüseyin Berber, 62, escaped being instantly crushed to death when the ceiling of his ground floor apartment crashed down around him and was held up by a fridge and a cabinet.
He was left sitting in an armchair in the pitch darkness in the ruins of the 15-storey block of flats where he lived with his family.
Hüseyin, who is diabetic, told how he fumbled around in the dark and found a single bottle of water which he drank in his crushed home in Antakya in Turkey’s southern Hatay province.
He became dehydrated and his throat parched and hoarse as he repeatedly shouted out in the hope of alerting rescuers after the water ran out.
Hüseyin Berber, 62, escaped being instantly crushed to death when the ceiling of his ground floor apartment crashed down around him and was held up by a fridge and a cabinet
Medical staff have repeatedly told Hüseyin that his survival against the odds was ‘a miracle’ after he was taken to recover at the City Hospital in Mersin
Hüseyin said he finally hit on the idea of urinating into his empty water bottle, and then waiting for his pee to cool down before drinking it.
He also managed to pick up a rug and wrapped it around himself to stay warm as nighttime temperatures plunged below freezing in the city where more than half the homes collapsed.
Five other members of his family including his son and grandchildren escaped unharmed by fleeing outside as the earthquake struck just after 4am on Monday last week.
Hüseyin sipped his urine until early on Tuesday this week when rescuers finally dug their way into his underground tomb and saved him after he had been trapped for 187 hours.
Last week, members of the London Fire Brigade pulled off a heroic rescue of a mother entombed under a collapsed building and reunited her with her infant daughter.
Awe-inspiring footage circulating on social media showed the moment the group, led by Dom Mabbett from Edmonton fire station, gently lifted a Turkish woman from a tiny gap amid a mountain of debris.
Awe-inspiring footage circulating on social media showed the moment the group, led by Dom Mabbett from Edmonton fire station, gently lifted a Turkish woman from a tiny gap
The woman could barely stand and members of the London Fire Brigade held her steady before picking her up and carrying her out of the rubble
She was unable to walk and was hoisted clear of the debris by firefighters who gently lowered her into the arms of other rescuers below
The woman was reunited with her young daughter as rescuers held the pair steady
Several firefighters have been dispatched to Hatay, one of Turkey’s southernmost provinces where the devastation is among the worst, as part of the UK’s Fire & Rescue Service International Search & Rescue team (ISAR)
Barely able to walk, the victim fell into the arms of firefighters and was deftly hoisted away from the debris and down to a nearby street, where her baby daughter was waiting.
The woman could scarcely stand, but the rescuers held her steady as she reached out and pulled her crying daughter in for a loving hug in one of the most touching and heartwarming scenes captured amid the crisis thus far.
A tweet published by London Fire Brigade read: ‘This is the incredible moment our @UKISAR team helped reunite a mother & daughter four days after the #TurkeyEarthquake struck.
‘Filmed yesterday in the centre of Hatay in #Turkey, it shows our firefighter Dom Mabbett from #Edmonton fire station help the woman to freedom.’
Several firefighters have been dispatched to Hatay, one of Turkey’s southernmost provinces where the devastation is among the worst, as part of the UK’s Fire & Rescue Service International Search & Rescue team (ISAR).
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