Boy rescued from Turkey quake rubble

ERCIS – Rescuers in eastern Turkey plucked a 12-year-old boy to safety 108 hours after a major earthquake struck eastern Turkey, Anatolia news agency reported Friday.

The boy, originally said to be 13, had been buried since Sunday’s quake devastated the region, killing more than 500 people.

Anatolia said the boy, Ferhat Tokay, whose first name was initially given as Serhat, was rescued in the town of Ercis, which took the full brunt of the 7.2 magnitude quake.

He was immediately sent to a field hospital in Ercis, and then transferred to a hospital in Van city centre by helicopter for further treatment, Anatolia said. Doctors said he was in good health.

He was pulled to safety by rescue teams from Afyon province, more 1400 kilometres west of Van province.

Late Thursday an 18-year-old was also saved from rubble, while the death toll from the earthquake reached 550, according to official numbers.