Turkish babies reunited with families after February earthquake

Vetin handed back to her mother after 54 days, while Musa had been separated from his parents for 50 days

Two Turkish babies have been reunited with their families after being found under rubble following the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria two months ago.

Three-and-a-half-month-old Vetin Begdas, who was nicknamed Gizem — Turkish for mystery — by health officials, was rescued in the southern province of Hatay province 128 hours after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake on February 6. She was then shifted to a hospital in the capital Ankara.

Vetin was reunited with her mother, Yasemin Begdas, on Saturday, 54 days after being rescued.

Turkey’s Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanik reunited mother and child in the southern province of Adana, where Ms Begdas is receiving medical treatment, reported the Anadolu news agency.

Mother and child were reunited after a DNA test that proved their relationship.

However, the family also suffered tragedy in the earthquake, as Vetin's father and two brothers died.

“The baby is truly a miracle. The fact that she survived and had no health problems pulled at our heartstrings,” Ms Yanik said.

At least 48,500 people were killed in Turkey and about 6,000 in Syria by the earthquake.

In a separate incident, a baby who was rescued from under the rubble in the southern province of Kahramanmaras and brought further west to the province of Mersin for treatment, was handed over to his parents — 50 days after being rescued.

Baby Musa's parents, Katibe and Naser Alkhalef, had just moved to Kahramanmaras with their three children before the earthquake struck.

The couple escaped with their four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son, but 10-month-old Musa was missing.

He was reunited with his family through DNA testing.