Heartbreaking Visuals: 18-Month-Old Syrian Girl Survives But Loses Family In Earthquake

On Monday, a massive earthquake rocked Syria and Turkey killing almost four thousand people, and injuring even more, as we still await the numbers every passing hour. The devastation caused in the areas has not just affected public life but shaken the basic systems of working in both countries. The earthquake, considered the most dangerous to date in both countries, led to numerous aftershocks and building collapses and destruction. As heartbreaking stories pour in from the devastation sites, we came across a visual of a toddler who was rescued from a destruction site and, in the process of the aftershock, lost her family.

18-month-old Raghad Ismail was rescued from under the rubble of a building that collapsed due to the earthquake in Syria on Monday. Ismail is currently at her uncle's home in rebel-held Azaz, Syria.

Earthquake in Syria

The visual of Raghad Ismail, who was cuddled in the arms of the site rescuer, is heart-wrenching. To think that most of Ismail's family, including her pregnant mother, did not make it alive from under the rubble of the buildings is devastating. The toddler's uncle, Abu Hussam, told Reuters that she lost both her siblings in the aftershock too.

"Her father's back is broken. Her mother was pregnant and has lost her life now. Her two siblings too, a five-year-old sister and four-year-old brother have all been killed,” said Hussam, while sharing that another family, including a mother and her three children, from the same building, was rescued and is safe.

It's reported that Ismail's family was displaced during the decade-long war that took place in Syria. The family which belonged to Morek was now situated in Azaz, a town beside the border of Turkey.

While Ismail is too young to comprehend and reflect on the shock she has entailed in the past two days, her loss will always be unfathomable to us. Just like Ismail's, thousands of families have been displaced from their homes and are now placed in camps in a land that was for decades suffering from the aftermath of war. To think of how the people in the region are coming to terms with their lives being changed forever by such a huge calamity is heartbreaking in more ways than one.

Suggested reading: Earthquake Hit Turkey And Syria: 10 Things To Know