Baby pulled from rubble is reunited with mom once thought dead 54 days after Turkey quake

News

By Isabel Keane

April 3, 2023 | 4:02pm

A baby miraculously plucked alive from rubble five days after Turkey’s killer quake in February has been finally reunited with her mother, who was believed to have been killed in the disaster.

Three-and-a-half-month-old Vetin Begdas — who was given the name “Gizen,” or “Mystery,” by rescue workers — was handed to mom Yasemin Begdas on Saturday, 54 days after the child was saved from a wrecked building in the province of Hatay.

Turkey Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanik reunited the pair after their relationship was confirmed by a DNA test.

“One of the most priceless tasks in the world is reuniting a mother with her child,” Yanik said. “Being a part of that happiness meant a lot to us as well.”

The minister shared a video of the joyful reunion on Twitter on Monday that featured the mother and daughter cuddling in a hospital bed.

The baby’s father and two brothers were killed in the Feb. 6 earthquake.

After being saved from the carnage of the temblor, the baby was cared for at a hospital in Adana, where her reunion with her mother took place.

“Vetin is now our baby, too,” said the minister, indicating that her agency plans to stay in touch with the family.

“The baby is truly a miracle. The fact that she survived and had no health problems pulled at our heartstrings,” Yanik added.

The earthquake took the lives of a total of more than 46,000 people in Turkey and 6,000 in neighboring Syria, the ministry said.

Other newborns impacted by the powerful natural disaster also drew worldwide attention as their photos and stories were shared online in the days after.

A newborn who was found attached to her deceased mother by her umbilical cord was eventually adopted by her aunt and uncle and named to honor her late mother.

With Post wires