The sinkhole left in the middle of a road by the earthquake in Turkey 0:41
(CNN) --
A 17-year-old girl was dubbed the "miracle girl" after being pulled alive from the rubble 248 hours after the fatal earthquake struck southern Turkey, as rescue efforts transition to recovery operations in ten days. after the disaster.
More than 42,000 people have died in Turkey and neighboring Syria after the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake on February 6, according to authorities.
Efforts to recover survivors have been hampered by a winter cold spell in quake-hit regions, while authorities grapple with the logistical challenges of transporting aid to northwestern Syria amid an acute humanitarian crisis compounded by years of political conflict.
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Earlier Thursday, UN Secretary General António Guterres called for raising $1 billion in aid for earthquake relief efforts in Turkey over the course of three months.
This comes two days after the UN issued another urgent humanitarian appeal to raise $397 million in earthquake relief for Syria, which also covers a three-month period as humanitarian agencies stress the need for psychological and mental health services. in the affected regions.
Aleyna Olmez is rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed apartment in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, on February 16, 2023. Credit: Mehmet Kaman/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Turkey's state-run news channel TRT Haber's team visited teenager Aleyna Ölmez in her hospital room after the rescue operation and spoke to her, her doctors and family members.
Speaking from her hospital bed, Haber's TRT cameras showed Aleyna's eyes wide open, her body covered in her up to her neck and oxygen supply.
Alyena was taken directly to the Kahramanmaraş Sutcu Imam University Faculty of Medicine after the rescue operation on Thursday.
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A video showed Aleyna's aunt and grandmother by her bed, touching her face and kissing her hands.
When TRT correspondent Haber approached Aleyna with a microphone to ask how she was doing, Aleyna shook her head and smiled.
Aleyna's doctor, Prof. Dilber, said he was very surprised by Aleyna's good health, telling TRT Haber: "She couldn't eat anything and didn't drink anything the whole time (when she was under the rubble), but it was still in good condition.”
Dr. Dilber added that "since she couldn't move under the rubble, we could say that her inactivity has protected Aleyna a bit and she needed energy and has held up through this time, but I guess we can't explain it that way."
Members of the rescue team gather after Aleyna Olmez, nicknamed the "miracle girl", was pulled alive from the rubble on Thursday in southern Turkey.
Credit: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images
By the time Aleyna was taken to the hospital, she was conscious and talking to doctors.
“We have made the necessary interventions.
Body images were taken and blood tests were taken.
She was in very good condition,” Dr. Dilber told TRT Haber.
“There was no hypothermia.
Blood tests also showed very good kidney functions.
Muscle enzymes weren't too high.
Fluid therapy was started immediately.
After that, Aleyna kept talking to us very well, ”she added.
Hacer Atlas, a member of the search and rescue team that saved the young earthquake victim, told Turkey's state news agency Anadolu that they were able to reach Aleyna after long and exhausting efforts.
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“First we take his hand, then we take it out.
She is in very good condition and she can communicate.
I hope we continue to receive good news from her," Atlas said of the time Aleyna was found.
TRT Haber later reported that Aleyna was taken to the capital Ankara by plane.
Another earthquake survivor defied predictions, a 77-year-old woman who was pulled alive from the rubble on Tuesday in the city of Adiyaman some 212 hours after the earthquake, Anadolu reported.
CNN's Richard Roth, Amy Cassidy, Talia Kayali and Rhea Mogul contributed reporting.