Two-week-old girl rescued as quake toll rises

Emergency workers rescued a two-week-old girl, her mother and grandmother yesterday from the rubble of an apartment block destroyed on Sunday when a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Van, eastern Turkey, killing at least 459 people.

Azra Karaduman was clinging to her mother Semiha when a rescue worker squeezed through the twisted steel and crushed concrete to reach the family.

There were cheers as Azra was carried out, swaddled in a blanket and taken to hospital. Hours later, Semiha and her mother, Gulsaadet, were also freed and reunited with the baby, whom officials said was in good health despite her two-day ordeal.

"It's a miracle," said Senol Yigit, Azra's uncle. "We had lost hope when we first saw the building." Azra's father remains unaccounted for, and only six other survivors were found yesterday.