'We had prepared her grave': Woman pulled alive from Türkiye quake debris

In yet another miraculous rescue, a woman has been pulled alive from the rubble of her apartment building on the 11th day after the twin earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye. 

Neslihan Kilic, 42, was pulled from the rubble in central Kahramanmaras province on Thursday — after 257 hours of torment — and later moved to the hospital.

"We had prepared her grave and we asked the rescue workers to stop digging as we feared they would damage the remaining corpses under the rubble.

Moments later, her voice was heard from under the ruins of the building," Kilic's brother-in-law told broadcaster CNN Turk.

Kilic's husband and two children are still missing.

CNN Turk said more than 250 people had lost their lives in the complex of high-rises where Kilic was found alive.

READ MORE: Zonguldak miners tell of joy, fear in Türkiye quake rescues

Death toll tops 43,000

On the disaster's11th day, the death toll in Türkiye rose to 38,044, making it the deadliest disaster in the country in 100 years. 

The toll in neighbouring Syria has reached 5,814, taking the combined death toll in both countries to 43,858. 

The February 6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.

More than 108,000 people were injured in Türkiye in the 7.7-magnitude quake that struck at 4:17 am [local time] and a magnitude 7.6 quake the first temblor likely triggered nine hours hours later.

READ MORE: Teenaged woman found alive, rescued on 11th day after Türkiye earthquakes