7-year-old girl shields brother from rubble in viral photo from Turkey-Syria earthquake

Turkey earthquake: The little girl protected her brother's head from the concrete rubble in the photo. (Image: @mhdksafa/Twitter)

A heart-breaking photograph of a 7-year-old girl protecting her young brother’s head with her hand while under earthquake rubble has gone viral on social media from the catastrophe hit Turkey and Syria.

The unnamed girl and her brother survived 17 hours under the rubble before being rescued. It is not clear whether the photo is from Turkey or Syria.

The harrowing photo shows the siblings stuck under a massive chunk of concrete as the girl guards her brother’s head with her arm.

UN representative Mohamad Safa, who shared the photo on Twitter, wrote: “The 7-year-old girl who kept her hand on her little brother's head to protect him while they were under the rubble for 17 hours has made it safely. I see no one sharing. If she were dead, everyone would share! Share positivity...”

The 7 year old girl who kept her hand on her little brother's head to protect him while they were under the rubble for 17 hours has made it safely. I see no one sharing. If she were dead, everyone would share! Share positivity... pic.twitter.com/J2sU5A5uvO

— Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) February 7, 2023

Three earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria on February 6 killing over 5,000 and leaving thousands injured and trapped under the rubble. The first and the most powerful was of 7.8 magnitude. A 7.5 magnitude quake struck a bit later while another 6.0 earthquake hit the middle-eastern countries hours later. Another 5.4 magnitude quake hit Turkey a day later.

The search for survivors trapped under the rubble of over 5,600 buildings is still on. Most people were asleep when the first earthquake hit. Rescuers are braving cold weather, collapsing buildings and aftershocks to find anyone they can from under the rubble.

There are fears that the death toll will rise inexorably, with World Health Organization officials estimating up to 20,000 may have died.