Husky is rescued after being trapped for 23 days amid Turkey’s quake

A husky was miraculously rescued from underneath rubble in Turkey – after spending 23 days trapped under a collapsed two-story building, apparently without food or water. Alex was pulled from the wreckage by rescue teams in Antakya in the province of Hatay after they overheard him while carrying out searches nearby. The series of devastating earthquakes have now killed more than 50,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria. Hatay is one of the provinces that has been hit the hardest.

Video footage of the heartwarming rescue showed the team effort to free Alex. Despite having just spent 23 days buried under the rubble, the first thing the friendly pup did was happily lick the face of his rescuer. The brown-and-white dog is visibly relieved as he takes in his surroundings as he sits safely in one volunteer’s arms. 

Alex was taken to the HAYTAP Field hospital, where he received treatment and volunteers gave him care and attention after the rescue. He was exhausted and had lost weight – but was otherwise in good health, Turkish media reported. HAYTAP volunteer Osman Polat told Turkish media outlet Oda TV: ‘It was a miracle indeed. It is truly a miracle that he survived in that hole for 22 days without eating or drinking anything.’ It is believed Alex became stuck when the two-story building he was in collapsed on February 6.

Smothered by rubble and lacking any sunlight, it is unclear how he survived for so long without food or water. Rescue teams heard him making noises while they were looking for temporary shelters in the Antakya province. Volunteers could see his nose through a small hole in the wreckage, and it took them two hours to free him. After his rescue, Alex could be seen panting happily as he received lots of well-deserved attention. The Siberian husky’s ears pricked up and he seemed alert as volunteers stroked and played games with him. 

On Monday Turkey was hit by yet another 5.6-magnitude tremor, centered in the town of Yesilyurt in the Malatya province. The initial 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6 led to almost 50,000 deaths and the serious collapse or damage of an estimated 173,000 buildings. 

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