London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 11, 2026

Turkey-Syria earthquake: Newborn baby pulled from collapsed building

Turkey-Syria earthquake: Newborn baby pulled from collapsed building

A newborn girl has been saved by rescuers from beneath the rubble of a building in north-west Syria that was destroyed by an earthquake on Monday.

Her mother went into labour soon after the disaster and gave birth before she died, a relative said. Her father, four siblings and an aunt were also killed.

Dramatic footage showed a man carrying the baby, covered in dust, after she was pulled from debris in Jindayris.

A doctor at a hospital in nearby Afrin said she was now in a stable condition.

The building in which her family lived was one of about 50 reportedly destroyed by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Jindayris, an opposition-held town in Idlib province that is close to the Turkish border.

The baby's uncle, Khalil al-Suwadi, said relatives had rushed to the scene when they learned of the collapse.

"We heard a voice while we were digging," he told AFP news agency on Tuesday. "We cleared the dust and found the baby with the umbilical cord [intact], so we cut it and my cousin took her to hospital."

Paediatrician Hani Maarouf said the baby had arrived at his hospital in a bad condition, with "several bruises and lacerations over all her body".

"She also arrived with hypothermia because of the harsh cold. We had to warm her up and administer calcium," he added.

She was photographed lying in an incubator and connected to a drip, as a joint funeral was held for her mother Afraa, father Abdullah and her four siblings.

They are among 1,800 people known to have been killed by the earthquake in Syria, according to the Damascus-based government and the White Helmets, whose volunteer first responders operate in opposition-held areas.

Another 4,500 people have been killed in Turkey, where the epicentre was.

The White Helmets have so far reported 1,020 deaths, but they have warned that figure is expected to "rise dramatically".

"Time is running out. Hundreds still trapped under the rubble. Every second could mean saving a life," they tweeted on Tuesday.

"We appeal to all humanitarian organisations and international bodies to provide material support and assistance to organisations responding to this disaster."

The UN has vowed to use "any and all means" possible to get aid to people in the north-west, but it has said that deliveries have been halted temporarily due to damaged roads and other logistical issues.

It has also urged governments not to politicise aid delivery when so many are in desperate need.

A UN Security Council agreement authorises the use of just one border crossing for deliveries from Turkey into the north-west. All other deliveries are meant to go via Damascus, although in the past the government has facilitated only a small amount of "cross-line" aid.

Even before the earthquake struck, 4.1 million people in the north-west - most of them women and children - were relying on humanitarian aid to survive.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
English Councils to Gain Power to Introduce Tourist Taxes by 2028
Kemi Badenoch Reshuffles Conservative Shadow Cabinet
Firefighters Make Progress Containing Major Wildfires in South Wales
John Lewis Partnership Reports £124 Million Loss
Study Says UK AI Data Centres Will Create Only a Quarter of Forecast Jobs
UK Government Considers Higher Industrial Water Prices Amid Supply Pressures
Andy Burnham Holds First Call With Donald Trump as UK Prime Minister
NHS Records Busiest Summer on Record as Heatwaves Drive Hospital Admissions
Home Secretary Orders Police Crackdown on Far-Right Anti-Migrant Vigilantes
UK Supreme Court Rules Northern Ireland Religious Education Curriculum Breaches Human Rights Standards
Markets Price in Four Bank of England Rate Rises by Next Summer
House of Commons Prepares Free Vote on Assisted Dying Bill
UK Government Bans Trade With Israeli Settlements in Occupied Territories
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Artificial Intelligence Investment Supports Expansion
Andy Burnham Becomes UK Prime Minister After Keir Starmer Resigns
John Lewis Partnership Loss Widens to £124 Million
UK Government to Put White Working-Class Social Mobility at Centre of Equality Policy
McLaren Plans £450 Million Technology Investment Creating 1,000 UK Jobs
UK Chancellor Faces Calls for Wealth Taxes and Public Ownership in Autumn Budget
English Mayors to Gain Powers to Impose Uncapped Overnight Tourist Taxes
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Government Against Bank Windfall Taxes
UK Air Traffic Control Outage Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
UK Imposes Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
UK Borrowing Costs Surge as Middle East Tensions Push Long-Term Gilt Yields to Highest Since 1998
Buckingham Palace Says Prince Harry and Meghan Will Not Resume Official Royal Duties
UK Treasury Faces Calls to Scrap £100,000 Childcare Support Threshold
Trades Union Congress Urges Labour Government to Rewrite Migration Policy
Riot Police Deployed After Anti-Migrant Protests Turn Violent in Portsmouth
UK Considers Replacing Some Disability Cash Payments With Direct Services
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Chancellor Against Higher Banking Taxes
UK Announces New Sanctions Targeting Israeli Settlements in West Bank
Metropolitan Police Investigate Alleged Illegal Donations to Reform UK
UK Charges Wiltshire Man With Assisting Russian Intelligence
UK Orders Urgent Review After Air Traffic Failure Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
Merz Rebukes AfD Expansion in Saxony-Anhalt
King Charles Confirms Prince Harry and Meghan Will Remain Private Citizens
Labour Selects Former Child Refugee for By-Election in Keir Starmer’s Former Seat
Foreign Private Equity Accelerates Takeovers of London-Listed Industrial Companies
NHS Maternity Care Faces Scrutiny Over Support for Mothers After Caesarean Births
BBC Warns Staff Strikes Are Likely Amid Job Cuts and Programme Cancellations
English Housing Affordability Improves to Best Level in More Than a Decade
UK Health Commission Proposes Framework for Wider AI Adoption Across NHS
Labour Faces Pressure for Wealth Tax Ahead of Autumn Budget
Metropolitan Police Open Criminal Investigation Into Alleged Foreign Donations to Reform UK
UK Police Deploy Riot Officers After Anti-Immigration Unrest in Portsmouth and Dover
UK Defends Sanctions on Israeli Settlements Despite Diplomatic Retaliation
UK Air Traffic Control Failure Cancels More Than 1,000 Flights and Disrupts 65,000 Passengers
Compass Urges £10 Million Wealth Tax and Public Ownership Ahead of UK Autumn Budget
UK Government’s Devolution Plans Face House of Lords Scrutiny
Maldives Seeks New Chagos Sovereignty Talks With UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham
×