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Viewers moved by BBC News report of baby born amid rubble in Syria earthquake

The baby girl still had her umbilical cord attached when rescue workers pulled her out alive from a collapsed building.

Albertina Lloyd
·Contributor
Updated ·2-min read
A baby girl who was born under the rubble caused by an earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey receives treatment inside an incubator at a children's hospital in the town of Afrin, Aleppo province, Syria, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Residents in the northwest Syrian town discovered the crying infant whose mother gave birth to her while buried underneath the rubble of a five-story apartment building levelled by this week’s devastating earthquake, relatives and a doctor say. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
The baby girl was born beneath the rubble caused by an earthquake that hit Syria. (AP)

Viewers of BBC News have praised Lyse Doucet for her reporting on a newborn baby born amid the rubble following the earthquakes in Syria.

The baby girl still had her umbilical cord attached when rescue workers pulled her out alive from a collapsed building which killed her mother, father, four siblings and aunt.

BBC correspondent Doucet replied to viewers praising her handling of the report, saying: "Thank you so much for watching – and caring."

Watch: The baby was pulled from the rubble in Syria with her umbilical cord still attached

One viewer commented: "@bbclysedoucet really has quite a remarkable way with words. Her ability to comment on any of the awful situations she covers always makes me stop and listen in a way that few others can. She has the ability to paint a picture with words without it becoming cliche or trite."

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Another said: "Think because she has such a depth of lived knowledge about what she comments on."

Lyse Doucet attends Sarah Brown's Theirworld charity event held in London's Connaught Rooms, ahead of International Women's Day, March 1, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Theirworld)
Lyse Doucet won praise for her handling of the report about the newborn baby. (Getty Images)

A third viewer tweeted: "The story of that newborn baby rescued from the rubble....umbilical cord cut from dead mother. All siblings dead too. Unbearable. @bbclysedoucet @annaefoster @thehuwedwards . Tough, tragic stories; reported so well #TurkeySyriaEarthquake"

And another wrote: "@bbclysedoucet with an absolutely gut-wrenching report from #Syria. The joy of a newborn baby girl rescued from the rubble – still with umbilical cord attached – tempered by the knowledge that her mum, dad, brothers and sisters all perished. Heartbreaking."

Dramatic footage showed a man carrying the baby girl, covered in dust, after she was pulled from debris in Jindayris, north-west Syria after the earthquake on Monday 6 February.

She was then shown lying in an incubator and connected to a drip at a hospital in nearby Afrin.

Rescue teams carry the body of a victim from a destroyed building in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Rescuers raced Tuesday to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by a powerful earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck eastern Turkey and neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
The earthquakes have destroyed buildings in Syria and Turkey, killing thousands. (AP)

A doctor said she was treated for hypothermia on arrival and was now in a stable condition.

The baby's uncle, Khalil al-Suwadi, told AFP news agency: "We heard a voice while we were digging We cleared the dust and found the baby with the umbilical cord [intact], so we cut it and my cousin took her to hospital."

Over 1,800 people are known to have been killed by the earthquake in Syria.

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Another 4,500 people have been killed in Turkey, where the epicentre was.