Watch: Syrian boy smiles, plays with rescue workers who pulled him out of rubble

Screengrab from the now-viral video has been winning hearts on the internet.

A Syrian boy, who was pulled out from under a mountain of rubble, was caught on camera smiling and playing with his rescuers. The clip is among the few that have been kindling hope among the thousands in Syria and Turkey as rescue operations continue amid a winter storm.

The video, shared by Reuters news agency, shows rescue workers cheering loudly as the child smiles and tugs onto one of their beards while others cuddle and kiss him.

A young Syrian boy smiled and started to play with rescue workers who pulled him from the rubble of a building that was destroyed following deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria pic.twitter.com/kM3Qt4UqvG

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— Reuters (@Reuters) February 8, 2023

The now-viral video has been winning hearts on the internet.

"Boy was giving his version of pats on the back. Precious display of relief, joy, and gratitude," commented Krista-Lynn (@kristalynnland) on Twitter. Another user Samriddhi Rai (@samriddhirai13) wrote, "This is so sweet and deeply heart-wrenching at the same time. Prayers and blessings."

Read more: Student trapped under debris in Turkey shares location on WhatsApp, rescued. Watch

But hope is fading for rescuing survivors of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which has killed over 17,500 people in one of the deadliest tremors in decades. Bitter cold has hampered the four-day search of thousands of flattened buildings and the 72-hour mark that experts consider the most likely period to save lives has passed.

Read more: Turkey-Syria earthquake: Hopes fade as toll crosses 17,500

Relatives were left scouring body bags laid out in a hospital car park in Turkey's southern city of Antakya to search for missing relatives, an indication of the scale of the tragedy.

"We found my aunt, but not my uncle," said Rania Zaboubi, a Syrian refugee who lost eight members of her family, as other survivors sought loved ones' bodies among the corpses.

(With inputs from agencies)