Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


    October 28, 2011

Turkish Teenager Rescued From Rubble Friday

   VOA News
   Turkish rescuers tend Ferhat Tokay, 13, after he was pulled from the
   rubble of a collapsed building in Ercis, Van, Turkey, October 28, 2011.
   Photo: AP
   Turkish rescuers tend Ferhat Tokay, 13, after he was pulled from the
   rubble of a collapsed building in Ercis, Van, Turkey, October 28, 2011.

   Rescue workers in Turkey pulled a teenage boy out of the rubble Friday,
   more than 100 hours after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake decimated much of
   the country's southeast on Sunday.
   Ferhat Tokay, 13, was found hours after rescuers found another young
   man in Ercis on Thursday. But hopes of finding other survivors were
   fading as cold weather and snow hampered rescue efforts in Ercis, the
   town hardest hit by the quake, and other towns and villages in the
   region.

   Authorities raced to provide shelter for thousands of victims left
   homeless by the quake. Early Friday, officials said the death toll has
   gone up to 570 and the injury total has risen to at least 2,500 people.
   They expect the death toll to continue to climb as more bodies are
   pulled from the rubble.
   The International Federation of the Red Cross says its Turkish chapter
   is working to assist survivors, and has distributed more than 7,500
   tents and 22,000 blankets, as well as stoves, food and clean water.
   Many displaced residents complain the government is not acting fast
   enough to distribute aid. Despite waiting in long lines for hours, some
   have been unable to get tents or shelter. Many people have been forced
   to sleep outdoors with blankets near campfires.
   There have been reports of some people obtaining extra tents and
   selling them for profit, while Turkey's Red Crescent organization said
   17 of its supply trucks were looted Wednesday.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.