Lebanese victim pulled from rubble 2 days after Turkiye quake; several remain trapped

People and emergency teams search for survivors in the rubble of a destroyed building, in Iskenderun town, southern Turkiye, on Feb. 7, 2023. (AP)

• Ambassador Ghassan Al-Muallem said about 10 to 15 Lebanese were known to have been in the area and most are safe, ‘however 4 or 5 people are still under rubble’
• Caretaker PM Najib Mikati sent a ministerial delegation to Damascus on Wednesday to discuss rescue and aid efforts with Turkish officials, including President Bashar Assad

BEIRUT: Rescuers in Turkiye pulled Lebanese citizen Basel Habqouq alive from the rubble on Wednesday, 48 hours after the massive earthquake that caused devastating damage and loss of life in the southeast of the country and neighboring Syria.
Meanwhile, teams continue their efforts to free Lebanese youths Elias Haddad and Mohammed Al-Mohammed who are trapped in the debris of the hotel in which they were staying. The efforts to track down other victims from Lebanon continue.
Ghassan Al-Muallem, the Lebanese ambassador to Turkiye, said: “The embassy is working with the Turkish authorities … to ascertain the fate of the missing Lebanese citizens.
“We have been informed that there were 10 to 15 Lebanese in the area that was hit by the earthquake. Most of them are in good condition and we succeeded in communicating with them. However, there are four to five people still under rubble.”
It is difficult to accurately calculate the total number of Lebanese nationals who were in the area at the time of the earthquake because some were not registered as residents and others were visiting as tourists or on business trips.
It is known that Lebanese doctor Wissam Mohammed Khair Al-Asaad died, along with his daughter, though his wife survived.
The Roman Catholic patriarchate in Syria said that Father Imad Daher, a Lebanese priest at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Aleppo, Syria, had died. His body was found under the rubble of the building in which he lived in Al-Azizia district, Hama.
There are also reports that Lebanese novelist Dalal Zain Al-Din is trapped under rubble in Antakya. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shamma and his son, Sarhan, survived but Shamma’s wife Susan is missing.
Relatives and friends of Lebanese who are missing have posted messages on social media seeking help to find loved ones they have been unable to contact. Among those whose fate remains unknown is Abdel Nour Ajaj, who lives with his family and his brothers in Turkiye, and Fatima Ramiz Zakaria from Tabbaneh, Tripoli.
The Lebanese army said two units of its engineering regiment sent to help the rescue efforts in Turkiye and Syria “continue search and rescue work in cooperation with the Lebanese Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defense.” Members of the first unit arrived in the Turkish city of Adana and then traveled to the city of Al-Bustan, while the second unit went to the Syrian city of Jableh.
“Immediately upon their arrival, the two units began working to remove the rubble and search for survivors in difficult weather conditions, low temperatures and an unsafe working environment as a result of the continued aftershocks that could cause additional collapses in the damaged buildings,” officials said.
Beirut Municipality said a rescue team it supplied, consisting of members of Beirut Fire Brigade and the city’s ambulance service, “saved a pregnant Turkish woman and her child who were pulled from the rubble of a completely destroyed building. They also saved a family and many children who were stuck inside a building, part of which had collapsed.”
Ambassador Al-Muallem described the situation rescuers are faced with as “very difficult” and added: “The scenes are more devastating than what we see on television. Some roads are cut off and cannot be accessed as a result of the massive destruction.
“Turkish rescue teams are working to respond to the calls and we are waiting to know the fate of the missing Lebanese.”
In Syria, Talal Daher, charge d’affaires at the Lebanese Embassy in Damascus, said that a family of four from Lebanon had survived in Aleppom but that two Lebanese citizens died in the coastal city of Jableh in Latakia Governorate.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati sent a ministerial delegation to Damascus on Wednesday to discuss rescue and aid efforts, the repercussions of the earthquake, and Lebanese relief capabilities.
The delegates spent 45 minutes with Syrian President Bashar Assad and also met Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad. During the meetings, officials said, they passed on “Lebanon’s solidarity with the Syrian people in this ordeal” and pledged to deploy “available capabilities to help in the areas of relief.”