Earthquake in Turkey and Syria has killed more than 8,300 people. The rescuers battled to locate survivors trapped under the rubble of thousands of collapsed buildings. But some extraordinary survival tales have emerged including a newborn baby pulled alive from rubble in Syria, still tied by her umbilical cord to her mother who died in Monday's quake. Now, a moving picture has surfaced on the internet which shows a seven-year-old Syrian girl shielding her younger brother's head under the rubble. The picture has moved the hearts of multiple social media users.
The picture was shared by UN representative Mohamad Safa who the picture of the young girl on Twitter. Fortunately, the brother-sister duo made it out safely after being stuck for about 17 hours.
The caption of the picture reads, "The 7-year-old girl who kept her hand on her little brother's head to protect him while they were under the rubble for 17 hours has made it safely. I see no one sharing. If she were dead, everyone would share! Share positivity".
Check out the picture:
The picture shows the sister protecting her little brother's head with her hand while they were under the rubble.
The picture left the social media users emotional and many praised the young girl for her gesture. A user commented, "Miracles happen. What a great big sister. Lovingly protective under such stressful circumstances. Hope for all those still trapped. Respect for all the rescuers working tirelessly."
Another user wrote, "Oh bless her - children's love and resilience makes me weep."
The third user commented, "OW! She's a little hero!"
Dozens of nations including the United States, China and the Gulf States have pledged to help, and search teams as well as relief supplies have begun to arrive by air.
Turkey is in one of the world's most active earthquake zones.
The country's last 7.8-magnitude tremor was in 1939 when 33,000 died in the eastern Erzincan province.
The Turkish region of Duzce suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 when more than 17,000 people died.
Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, a megalopolis of 16 million people filled with rickety homes.