A pregnant mother gave birth to her child while trapped under rubble in the Afrin district of Syria’s Aleppo governorate after a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the country and parts of Turkey on Monday .
The mother, who was originally displaced from Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor region, went into labor during the earthquake, MailOnline reported. She died before rescuers were able to save her, the newspaper said. The baby, however, miraculously survived.
According to a cousin who spoke to Agence France-Presse, the child is the lone survivor in its immediate family. The baby is receiving medical care in Afrin, the news agency said.
AFP reported that the baby was still tied to its mother’s umbilical cord when rescuers arrived.
A video shared on social media shows rescuers pulling the newborn from the rubble. It shows a man carrying the baby from the ruins of devastated buildings, stepping over rubble and barbed wire, as a crowd watches on.
Another man can be seen throwing a dusty blanket as part of the rescue effort.