Yesterday, as his life ebbed away, rescuers found Ismail Cimen. He had been lost to the world for six days. Now only distant relatives can comfort the child. His mother lies injured in the same hospital, his father is dead, so are three of his sisters. The boy is sedated.
Tranquilizers limit the disturbing flashbacks.
Despite the desperate hopes of thousands that some miracle may still deliver their trapped relatives alive, the clearing and the bulldozing rubble has now fully got under way. Local people have been taking remarkable risks in trying to salvage belongings. It's a sign both of their plight, and of the lack of official safety supervision, which has marred the earthquake catastrophe in the past week. Beyond anyone's control, however, has been the savage weather. As if they haven't suffered enough from the quakes, the population in the coastal areas of Northwest Turkey are having to contend with torrential rain storms.