Online Desk: Miracles prevail on the ninth day of earthquakes, which hit Turkiye’s southern region. A boy aged 17 was rescued alive on Tuesday some 198 hours after two earthquakes hit Turkiye on Feb. 6. The boy was pulled to safety by crews Tuesday from the rubble of a building in the province of Kahramanmaras. Search teams are facing a race against the clock as experts caution that hopes of finding people alive in the debris dim with each passing day. In the devastated Turkish city of Kahramanmaraş, near the quake’s epicenter, excavators dug through mountains of twisted rubble as a rescue team recovered a body from the wreckage, reports Daily Sabah.

Factors vary, but experts say people trapped in the rubble of an earthquake can survive for up to a week or more. They emphasize it depends on their injuries, how they are trapped, and the weather conditions. Most rescues occur in the first 24 hours after a disaster. After that, survival chances drop as each day passes, experts said. Many victims are badly injured or buried by falling stones or other debris. Access to water and air to breathe are crucial factors, along with weather conditions.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaraş province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Hatay, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakır, Kilis, Osmaniye and Sanlıurfa.

Nearly 238,500 search and rescue personnel are currently working in the field, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). More than 158,000 people have been evacuated from the quake-hit regions so far, AFAD also said. A total of 9,401 foreign personnel from 77 countries are currently working in the field, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday. It also said 99 countries have offered assistance thus far, and seven more countries are expected to send rescue teams.