Trapped in quake ruins under the concrete remains of their home in earthquake-struck Syria for freezing 36 hours, girl who protected her brother are finally saved.
Mariam, the elder sibling, is seen gently stroking her younger brother’s head as they lie wedged between what appears to be the remains of their bed and a collapsed concrete wall after Monday’s devastating earthquake.
She was seen moving her arm just enough to cover her brother’s face, offering some protection from the great clouds of dust billowing from the cluster of fallen buildings.
Spotting the rescuers, she confidently whispered to them: ‘Get me out of here, I’ll do anything for you.’
Their father, Mustafa Zuhir Al-Sayed revealed the name of the brother ad Ilaaf – an Islamic name that means protection.
Footage shows locals cheering as Mariam and Ilaaf are carried from the rubble wrapped in blankets. The children were taken to hospital, where they are receiving medical treatment.
Al-Sayed told the broadcaster that his wife and three children were sleeping when the 7.8-magnitude quake hit neighbouring Turkey on Monday morning.
‘We felt the ground shaking … and rubble began falling over our head, and we stayed two days under the rubble,’ he said.
‘We went through, a feeling, a feeling I hope no one has to feel.’
Caught under the wreckage of their home, Al-Sayed said his family recited the Quran and prayed out loud that someone would find them.
‘People heard us, and we were rescued – me, my wife and the children. Thank God, we are all alive and we thank those who rescued us,’ he said.
