Turkish mother of ten-day-old boy reveals cupboard saved their lives after plunging through floor

A Turkish mother of a ten-day-old boy revealed that a cupboard saved their lives when they plunged through their apartment floor and it shielded them from falling concrete slabs during the deadly earthquake.

One of the miracle stories after the earthquake that claimed over 35,000 lives in Turkey and Syria is about Necla Camuz, 33, and her newborn son Yagiz, who survived being buried under mounts of rubble for nearly four days. 

Necla kept her baby boy alive for more than 90 hours of being buried in the ruins of her home by breastfeeding him, and she even tried to drink her own breastmilk to survive.

She gave birth to Yagiz – translated as the brave one – on January 27, the BBC reports. 

Ten days later, when the devastating earthquake hit at 04:17 local time, she was breastfeeding her son in the family home on the second floor of a five-storey building in the Hatay province in Turkey.

Necla Camuz, 33, gave birth to her son Yagiz – translated as the brave one – on January 27. Ten days later, she found herself buried under a mountain of rubble, holding her baby son to her chest

When the earthquake started, she said her husband, who was in another room at the time, tried to get to her with their son, as she tried to do the same.

A wardrobe fell onto her husband and her son, making it impossible for him and their son to move. 

She told the BBC: ‘As the earthquake got bigger, the wall fell, the room was shaking, and the building was changing position. When it stopped, I didn’t realise that I had fallen one floor down. I shouted their names but there was no answer.’

Surrounded by dust, she found herself with her baby still in her arms and a fallen wardrobe next to her, which prevented a slab of concrete from crushing the pair. 

Despite being unable to see because of the dust, Necla noticed immediately that Yagiz was still breathing. 

She said she struggled to breathe at first with the dust around her, but it soon settled and she was warm in the rubble, despite only wearing her pyjamas. 

There may have been children’s toys next to her, but Necla was unable to move and check.

The only things she could be sure of were the wardrobe that saved her life, the skin of her baby son against her chest, the clothes on their bodies and the mountains of concrete and debris around them. 

She could faintly hear voices in the first few hours after the earthquake, but her calls for help remained unanswered. 

She banged helplessly against the wardrobe using a piece of debris next to her, but she didn’t knock on the ceiling, as she was too afraid it might collapse.

The mother-of-two said she was terrified and that she realised it might be possible that no one would come to rescue her and Yagiz.

She told the BBC: ‘You plan lots of things when you have a new baby, and then… all of a sudden you’re under rubble.’

Her maternal insticts made her push her worries aside to care for her son, breastfeeding him in the confined space.

Dramatic footage shows the rescue of the baby and its mother before they were loaded into ambulances and driven to hospital

After more than 90 hours underground, Necla finally heard the sounds of rescuers nearby. She heard dogs barking, in what she at first thought was a dream 

Yagiz was wrapped in a thermal blanket by rescuers from the Istanbul Minicipality Fire Department and carefully lifted out of the rubble

 Mother and son miraculously sustained no serious injuries and were released from hospital after a 24-hour observation period

She lost all sense of time and there was no food or water she could access for herself. She even tried to unsuccessfully drink her own breastmilk to keep herself hydrated. 

She could feel the vibrations of drills overhead, and she even heard muffled footsteps and voices, but they were so far away that she didn’t want to waste energy by trying to alert them of her location unless they got closer. 

Her family was constantly on her mind: the worry of her husband and son buried in rubble somewhere above and her other relatives’ fate after the earthquake. 

She would have felt no hope to ever get out of the rubble alive, had it not been for her baby son, who slept most of the time and only woke up crying when he wanted to be fed. 

After more than 90 hours underground, Necla finally heard the sounds of rescuers nearby. She heard dogs barking, in what she at first thought was a dream.

A voice called to her, asking her if she was okay and to knock once for yes. It asked her which apartment she lived in. 

Necla and Yagiz were found after rescuers carefully removed the rubble burying them.

For the first time in nearly four days, she saw light again as a torch light was shining into her eyes.

She was asked how old Yagiz was, but since she didn’t know how long they were buried under the rubble, she couldn’t be sure. 

Yagiz was wrapped in a thermal blanket by rescuers from the Istanbul Minicipality Fire Department and carefully lifted out of the rubble.

Necla was carried away on stretcher in front of a large crowd, as she was unable to walk after being burried under the rubble for so long. 

Dramatic footage shows the rescue of the baby and its mother before they were loaded into ambulances and driven to hospital.

At the hospital, Necla was greeted by family members, who told her that her husband Irfan, who she has been married to for six years, and other son, Yigit Kerim, had been rescued as well and were currently in a hospital a few hours away, as they sustained serious injuries to their legs and feet

At the hospital, Necla was greeted by family members, who told her that her husband Irfan, who she has been married to for six years, and other son, Yigit Kerim, had been rescued as well and were currently in a hospital a few hours away, as they sustained serious injuries to their legs and feet.  

Mother and son miraculously sustained no serious injuries and were released from hospital after a 24-hour observation period. 

She is currently staying with a family in a makeshift blue tent, where the family supports each other after the tragedy.

Necla was eventually reunited with her husband Irfan and their three-year-old son Yigit Kerim.

She said she was trying to come to terms with what happened to her and her family, but is certain that she owes her life to her baby son, without whom she would have lost hope. 

‘I think if my baby hadn’t been strong enough to handle this, I wouldn’t have been either,’ she told the BBC. ‘I’m very happy he’s a newborn baby and won’t remember anything.’