After spending 40 hours buried beneath the wreckage, a nine-year-old Syrian girl whose story embodied the tragedy, hope, and sadness of this month’s earthquake was transported to Turkey on Thursday for medical care.
Sham Sheikh Mohammed, who may need to have both of her legs amputated, and her brother Omar, 15, reportedly crossed from the rebel-held northwest of Syria at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, according to local officials.
They were the first survivors of the earthquake on February 6 who were allowed permission to go from rebel-held areas into Turkey for medical treatment.
Over 46,000 people were killed in Turkey and certain areas of Syria by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
The White Helmets rescue organization, which works in rebel-held regions, requested prayers on social media so that Sham wouldn’t have to have an amputation after video of her rescue went viral.
Sham experiences crush syndrome, which is a condition that also affects other survivors.
This starts with a significant pain in the affected extremity, which can initially still appear healthy, and develops in limbs that have been starved of blood circulation for an extended period of time.
Sham’s mother and sister perished in the town of Armanaz, in the northwest province of Idlib, when the family’s building fell. Her brother and father both lived.
Two Turkish ambulances arrived at the Bab al-Hawa crossing on Thursday to bring up the two kids, who were also being picked up by their father and aunt.
Sham was celebrated for her courage after humming a tune along with her White Helmets rescuers, who worked for six hours to free her from the concrete.
“Sham is in a critical condition,” her father Mohammed told AFP, adding that Omar was also suffering from leg injuries.
Shadi Haj Hussein, an official from the health department in rebel-held Idlib, told AFP that her condition “requires specialised treatment that is not available” in the region.
In Damascus, an official said on Thursday that the government had “assured the transfer” of six other Syrian child survivors of the quake to the United Arab Emirates for treatment. They are also suffering from crush syndrome.