CNN
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Two children trapped between concrete at a ruined home in northern Syria have been rescued more than 36 hours after Monday’s quake trapped them while their families slept.
The video shows him crouching on the rubble of an orphanage in Besnaya Busseine, a small village in Haram, Syria.
“I will be your servant,” she adds, to which the rescuer replies, “No, no.”
The girl’s name is Mariam, and she gently strokes the hair on her brother’s head as he lies squashed in what appears to be the remains of his bed. She can move her arms enough to cover her brother’s face, providing some protection from dust in her debris.
According to the father, the youngest son’s name is Ilaaf, an Islamic name that means protection.
Mustafa Zuhir Al-Sayed said his wife and three children were among the largest to hit the region early Monday morning when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook the earth.
“We felt the ground shake…and rubble started falling on us and we stayed under the rubble for two days,” he said. “We went through some emotions, which I hope no one needs to feel.”
Al-Sayed’s family, buried under the rubble, said they recited the Koran and prayed loudly for someone to find them.
“People heard us and we were saved, my wife and our children. Thank God we are all alive and grateful to those who saved us.” he said.
The video shows locals cheering as Mariam and Ilaaf are carried out of the rubble wrapped in blankets.
Even for those who managed to escape the collapsing buildings, hopes of finding other family members are fading by the hour in sub-zero temperatures that make survival difficult.
Al-Sayed’s home is in the rebel-controlled Idlib governorate in northern Syria. At least 1,730 people have died in rebel-controlled areas, according to the Syrian Civil Defense Corps, a humanitarian aid group commonly known as the “White Helmets.”
The group said on Tuesday that the number of dead and injured “is expected to rise significantly as there are hundreds of families under the rubble”.
State news agency SANA reported that at least 1,262 people were confirmed dead in government-controlled areas of Syria, bringing the total number of Syrian casualties to around 3,000.
The total death toll from the quake across the Turkish-Syrian border now exceeds 15,000, and the numbers warned by aid agencies are likely to rise significantly.
Aid is slowly reaching those in need, but even before the earthquake, the United Nations said 70% of Syria’s population needed humanitarian assistance.
“This tragedy will have a devastating impact on many vulnerable families who struggle to provide for their loved ones on a daily basis,” said UN Resident Coordinator and Temporary Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria and Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syrian Crisis. said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The United Nations and humanitarian partners say they are now focusing on immediate needs, including food, shelter, non-food items and medicines.
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