After tens and even hundreds of hours under the ruins, earthquake victims manage to see the light again, only to die days or even hours later.
Zeynep spent more than 100 hours under the rubble of a house destroyed by a deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria before rescuers were finally able to pull her out of the rubble. She was one of those “lucky ones” who could endure long enough for help to reach them.
“The woman is in good health, given the conditions,” according to a press release from the humanitarian organization International Search and Rescue Germany (ISAR Germany), which was responsible for her rescue. But soon after liberation from the rubble, Zeynep died …
Speaking to Deutsche Welle, Bastian Herbst, one of the organization’s doctors involved in removing Zeynep from the rubble and taking her to the hospital, said the woman “laughed on the way to the hospital.” As he explained, there are 120,000 different causes of death for Zeynep. Perhaps her internal organs were damaged, which the rescuers could not diagnose in time. Or maybe she survived the so-called “rescue” death.
Rescued victims of the earthquake in Turkey
Hypothermia
“There are many causes for the death of rescued people,” Herbst notes. One of them is hypothermia. The cold weather in the earthquake area causes the blood vessels of trapped people to constrict. This constriction ensures that as little precious heat as possible is lost through the skin or limbs. these parts of the body is reduced, while warm blood in the trunk ensures the continued functioning of organs critical for survival.
The release of Zeynep was not an easy task. “We had to move her a lot before we could free her,” says Herbst. The doctor suspects that this movement may have caused the woman’s blood vessels to dilate, allowing cold blood to move through her torso. This, in turn, could cause cardiac arrhythmia and subsequent death.
Rescued victims of the earthquake in Turkey
Renal failure and ventricular fibrillation
Another scenario is renal failure and cardiac arrhythmia. She could not move her legs, “her legs were buried under rocks and rubble,” Herbst said in an interview with Deutsche Welle. It is possible that the tissues in her legs were damaged, causing the body to release myoglobin, a protein responsible for transporting oxygen to muscle cells when tissues are damaged.
After releasing the tight parts of the body, when the blood can again flow freely through the vessels, the body can become overwhelmed with myoglobin, which can cause kidney failure and, as a result, an increase in potassium levels. Excessive amounts of potassium in the body, in turn, can lead to ventricular fibrillation (a type of arrhythmia that prevents the heart from sending blood to the rest of the body), which is extremely dangerous for people with underlying heart disease.
Rescued victims of the earthquake in Turkey
Reducing stress leads to death
“We know this from those in distress: once they see rescuers, they don’t let themselves drown,” Herbst explained, adding that stress hormones help keep organs functioning. With a decrease in the level of these hormones after a rescue, the circulatory system may be disturbed. Zeynep lost her husband and children during the earthquake. “Maybe she found out about it and lost the will to live,” Herbst suggested. “We can’t know for sure.”
More Stories
“ISIS is under Western control,” the Taliban says. According to the survey, 92% of Greek respondents agree with this
What will happen to the Rio-Antirrio bridge in the event of a collision with a ship?
The government is in a frenzy after information emerged about the falsification of an audio recording of conversations between the driver and the station manager in Tempi