Husky saved after 22 days trapped under rubble from 7.8 earthquake in Turkey, rescuers say

Orlando Mayorquin, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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A rescue team in Turkey successfully pulled a dog out from rubble 22 days after devastating earthquakes leveled buildings throughout southern Turkey and northern Syria and killed tens of thousands of people, the animal rescuers announced.

Video showed workers from Haytap, a Turkish animal rescue agency, clearing an opening for the dog, a Siberian Husky named Alex, through the rubble under a giant collapsed concrete slab and whistling tenderly to draw him out, according to Turkish news agency Anadolu. 

The dog’s owner called Haytap after he heard Alex’s barks coming from the rubble of a two-story building in Hatay province, the news agency said.

A dog was pulled alive from the rubble of a destroyed building in Turkey’s Hatay province weeks after devastating quakes hit the country.
A dog was pulled alive from the rubble of a destroyed building in Turkey’s Hatay province weeks after devastating quakes hit the country.

"Surviving 22 days in that hole without eating or drinking anything is really a miracle," Osman Polatsaid,the Haytap worker who pulled the dog out, told Anadolu.

Polatsaid told the outlet Alex had lost some weight, but was generally in good health.

Alex’s rescue is the latest in a string of videos circulated online of pets emerging from the earthquake’s wreckage.

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Rescue and recovery efforts continue in the region nearly a month after the first 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Gaziantep, Turkey.

The death toll has surpassed 50,000, the United Nations said Tuesday, as relief workers continue to solve an enduring humanitarian crisis in which thousands are without shelter and basic needs.

How to help Turkey and Syria

USA TODAY has identified dozens of humanitarian organizations accepting donations from the public to support their efforts helping victims in Turkey and Syria.

The list includes GlobalGiving, a nonprofit that helps fund a network of humanitarian groups on the ground in the region. Haytap, the Turkish organization that has rescued Alex and other animals in the wake of the earthquake, is also accepting donations. 

See USA TODAY's full list of aid groups here. 

Contributing: The Associated Press

Turkey-Syria earthquake

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex the Husky: Dog rescued from rubble in Turkey after 22 days