A three-and-a-half-month-old baby who was rescued from under the rubble 128 hours after massive earthquakes hit Turkey last month, on Saturday was reunited with her mother, who was presumed to be dead.
Vetin Begdas, the infant addressed lovingly as ‘Mystery’ (Gizem in Turkish) by health authorities, was saved in Hatay region 5 days after earthquakes hit the nation on February 6.
She was then transferred to a facility in Ankara, Turkey’s capitol.
Minister of Family and Social Services, Derya Yanik, reunited the infant with her mother Yasemin Begdas in Adana province, where the latter is getting medical care, reported Andalou agency.
The baby and mother were reunited due to a DNA test that confirmed their connection. The baby’s father and two siblings were slain in the earthquakes, which killed over 50,000 people. “The baby is a true miracle.”
“The baby is truly a miracle. The fact that she survived and had no health problems pulled at our heartstrings,” Yanik said.
“‘Mystery’ is now our baby too,” she said, adding that the ministry’s support will always be with her.
