Turkey: 'Mystery' baby reunited with mother after earthquake

Saim Dušan Inayatullah

The child, who is 3-and-a-half months old, was returned to her mother almost two months after the devastating earthquake. The baby had survived five days under the rubble.

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Earthquake survivor mother Yasemin Begdas hugging 3-month-old daughter Vetin in hospital bed as Turkish Family Minister Derya Yanik looks on — A mother in southern Turkey has been reunited with her 3-and-a-half-month-old baby after the pair were separated by an earthquake that claimed tens of thousands of livesImage: Ministry of Family and Social Services/REUTERS

A mother in Turkey has been reunited with her daughter almost two months after they were separated by a devastating earthquake, the country's family ministry said.

The baby, named Vetin, was returned to her mother after a DNA test confirmed their relationship.

Nurses had called the baby "Gizem Bebek," meaning "mystery baby" in Turkish, according to the ministry. She is 3-and-a-half months old.

Vetin was pulled out of the rubble of a building in the province of Hatay more than five days after southern Turkey was hit by an earthquake that claimed tens of thousands of lives. The child had no health problems, the ministry said.

Family torn by tragedy

Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported that the baby's mother, Yasemin Begdas, was injured in the earthquake, while her father and older brother were killed.

"Reuniting a mother and her child is one of the most precious tasks in the world," Minister of Family and Social Services Derya Yanik said.

"Vetin is now our baby too," the minister tweeted.

Vetin was initially cared for at a hospital in Adana and was then taken to Ankara by presidential plane to receive further medical treatment. After it was confirmed that Yasemin was her mother, the baby was flown back to Adana.

Turkey's Anadolu news agency cited the family minister as saying that Yasemin was still receiving treatment at the Adana hospital as of Monday.

More than 56,000 people were killed in the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6.