The war-torn city of Aleppo in Syria is one of the hardest hit areas in Syria after the earthquake on Monday night.
A pregnant woman was buried in one of the collapsed buildings. As rescue workers worked to reach her, labor began, according to Turkish newspaper Türkiye Gazetesi.
The baby was born in the ruins, and survived. The mother did not make it.
A mobile video shows a rescue worker running out of the pile of rubble with the newborn:
At least 1,600 people were confirmed dead in the northern parts of Syria on Tuesday morning, according to the civil defense organization The White Helmets, but it is difficult to get a full overview of the situation.
Unmanageable
Control of northern Syria is divided between the authorities, Kurdish forces and other rebel groups.
Several million refugees live in the area, who are internally displaced after 11 years of war in Syria.
Many of those who have had their homes destroyed in the earthquake say they now have nowhere to go.
RESCUED: An injured girl is retrieved from a collapsed house in Jandaris in the rebel-held Aleppo province in northern Syria. Photo: RAMI AL SAYED/AFP
Close to 300 minor aftershocks also make it risky to enter the ruins of houses. Snow, rain and cold delay the rescue work and reduce the chance that those buried will survive for a long time.
Thousands of buildings were left in ruins when the powerful earthquake struck while most people were still asleep in their beds before dawn on Monday.
Difficult to get emergency help
Large blocks of flats were turned into piles of concrete, bricks and twisted rebar within seconds, and work to search them has barely started in many places due to a lack of machinery and manpower.
SEARCHING: Residents of Besnaya in rebel-held Idlib province search for survivors in the rubble. Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP
Aid organizations and their stocks of emergency aid were also affected by the earthquake, and in the rebel-controlled Idlib province in Syria, an employee of Doctors Without Borders lost his life in the earthquake. Several others in the aid organization lost family members.
A number of countries have promised to contribute with emergency aid, but on Tuesday little had been put in place in the hardest hit areas.
– The roads we have used to bring in emergency aid are destroyed, so we have to be creative to reach people. But we are working hard, says UN coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih.
DIFFICULT: The rescue work is described as very challenging. Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP
The bad weather also makes relief work difficult there, and the hope of finding more survivors is fading hour by hour.
– The region has been hit by a terrible snowstorm, and many people have stayed outdoors in snow, rain and bitter cold last night, says a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Syria.
