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Teacher, teen rescued in Turkey quake

Guards stand by as rescue workers search for victims in the rubble of a destroyed building in Ercis province of Van, in eastern Turkey on October 25, 2011, two days after a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck killing 366 and injuring some 1,300. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian
1 of 4 | Guards stand by as rescue workers search for victims in the rubble of a destroyed building in Ercis province of Van, in eastern Turkey on October 25, 2011, two days after a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck killing 366 and injuring some 1,300. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian | License Photo

ERCIS, Turkey, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Rescuers pulled a teenage male and a woman from the rubble in Ercis, Turkey, Wednesday, three days after a huge earthquake killed 461 people.

In the latest rescue, emergency crews extracted Gozde Bahar, a 27-year-old teacher who was under the debris 67 hours after the 7.2-magnitude quake hit Van province in eastern Turkey Sunday, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.

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Eighteen-year-old Eyup Erdem was also pulled from a collapsed building after being trapped for 61 hours, the Anatolian news agency reported.

The two rescues Wednesday came a day after crews in Ercis pulled a 2-week-old baby, her mother and her grandmother alive from the rubble, CNN said. The infant's father remained trapped beneath the rubble, officials said.

The earthquake injured 1,352 people and damaged thousands of buildings.

Turkey said it would accept international aid, citing a need for tents and prefabricated houses, Anadolu said.

The Israeli government said a plane carrying seven prefabricated buildings and other aid would head for Turkey Wednesday afternoon, CNN reported. Relations between Turkey and Israel have been strained since last year when nine Turkish activists were killed during an Israeli commando raid on a flotilla trying to break a naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged Wednesday his government could have done better in its initial response to Sunday's earthquake but ripped media outlets for their criticism of how it reacted at first, Today's Zaman reported.

"I admit that we failed in the beginning within the first 24 hours. But this is normal. This happens all around the world," Erdogan said during a meeting of his Justice and Development Party. "News agencies and television channels are distorting many things. There is no point in deceiving the public. I am telling you what has been done."

The situation is now almost completely under control, he said.

"There are unfortunately some circles who are trying to use such situations for political gain," the prime minister said. "This is ugly. There is a state and a government that has been mobilized during such this disaster. The state is there with all its institutions."

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