A Turkish baby, who was found trapped under the rubble in the wake of the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in February, reunited with her mother last week, the Turkey’s Ministry of Family and Social Services said.
The baby, Vetin Begdas, was miraculously rescued after being buried under the post-earthqauke rubble after 128 hours. However, what makes this union extraordinary is the fact that her mother Yasemin Begdas was earlier declared dead, a report by Al Jazeera mentioned.
Fifty-four days after the rescue from a damaged building in Turkish province Hatay, the three-and-a-half-month-old baby was handed over to her mother on Saturday, Anadolu Agency reported.
The medical authorities who cared for the baby named her Gizem which translates to mystery in Turkish.
Derya Yanik, the minister for family and social services, helped unite the mother-daughter duo after a DNA test proved their biological relationship.
“One of the most priceless tasks in the world is reuniting a mother with her child. Being a part of that happiness meant a lot to us as well," the minister said.
Updating her followers and the world about Baby Vetin, the Turkish minister shared a video on Twitter showing their reunion. The mother, who is receiving treatment at a hospital in Adana, was seen hugging and cuddling her lost daughter.
To reunite their pair, Turkish authorities flew the three-month-old Vetin from Ankara where she was receiving treatment.
“Vetin is now our baby too,” Yanik tweeted and extended support to the baby for life.
“The baby is truly a miracle. The fact that she survived and had no health problems pulled at our heartstrings,” the minister said.
Vetin's discovery after spending several hours under the rubble was deemed a mystery and tugged at everyone's heartstrings. People were left surprised and happy to see her photos which went viral on social media, as rescue efforts continued across Turkey and Syria.
As per Turkish media, Vetin's father and two brother were killed in the devastating quake that claimed the lives of over 50,000 people.
More than 44,000 people died as a result of the earthquake in Turkey alone, while 20 million people remain impacted by the natural catastrophe till date, as reported by the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
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