Are we right to call this a miracle? Miray’s rescue seven and a half days after the Turkish earthquake seems unbelievable. But scientists say everything must have an explanation.
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Girl aged six alive in rubble after 178 hours
Are we right to call this a miracle? Miray's rescue seven and a half days after the Turkish earthquake seems unbelievable. But scientists say everything must have an explanation.
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What's happening?
The crowd cheered. Miray, a six-year-old girl from TurkeyOfficially the Republic of Turkiye, a country that lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia at the east of the Mediterranean. , was rescued from the ruins of a block of flats. She had been trapped for 178 hours after an earthquakeThe shaking of the surface of the Earth after a sudden burst of energy at a tectonic plate boundary. caused the building to fall down.
The earthquake happened in the middle of the night last Monday. After a few days, rescuers were losing hope of finding more survivors.
Many are calling Miray's rescue a miracle. A miracle is an amazing event that cannot be explained by science or nature.
Find out more
In the USA, as many as four in every five people believe in miracles. This includes nearly three quarters of doctors.
Others say that most "miracles" really can be explained by science. Experts say that if young, healthy people are trapped in a space with air and no injuries, they can survive for many days.
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Are we right to call this a miracle?
Yes! The rescuers were beginning to lose hope. Finding a child still alive after so many days is the miracle they needed to continue. The chances of her survival were very small.
No! Thousands of people were trapped. The survival of a small number of people is amazing - but it can be explained by science. Many will have had enough air to survive.
Keywords
Turkey - Officially the Republic of Turkiye, a country that lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia at the east of the Mediterranean.
Earthquake - The shaking of the surface of the Earth after a sudden burst of energy at a tectonic plate boundary.
Girl aged six alive in rubble after 178 hours
Miraycle: Miray was one of the youngest survivors. A woman was rescued after 221 hours. Glossary
Turkey - Officially the Republic of Türkiye, a country that lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia at the east of the Mediterranean.
Earthquake - The shaking of the surface of the Earth after a sudden burst of energy at a tectonic plate boundary.