Turkish rescuers pull 2 more from quake rubble

 

CNN) -- Rescuers pulled a teen and a teacher from collapsed buildings early Wednesday, nearly three days after a massive earthquake left heaps of twisted metal and concrete chunks in eastern Turkey.

The quake and its aftermath killed at least 461 people and left 1,352 others injured, according to state media.

In the latest rescue, emergency crews pulled a 27-year old woman from debris 67 hours after the quake hit, Anadolu reported.

The teacher, Gozde Bahar, suffered brief breathing problems, but was undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

Eyup Erdem, 18, was also pulled from a collapsed building after almost 61 hours and taken to a field hospital, the semiofficial Anatolian news agency reported.

No more information was immediately available on both rescues in Ercis.

They come a day after crews pulled a baby, her mother and her grandmother alive from the rubble Tuesday.

The father of 2-week-old Azra remained trapped beneath the rubble, officials said. Crews pulled four bodies from the debris after her rescue, but did not say whether they included the baby's father.

Despite widespread destruction and cold temperatures, teams of rescuers scoured the ruins for survivors around the clock since the 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Sunday.

Turkey said it would accept international aid, citing a need for tents and prefabricated houses for the "the reconstruction phase" after the search-and-rescue efforts, according to Anadolu.

Japan was the first nation to answer the call to help with its embassy in the nation saying plans are under way to send funds, Anadolu said. Japan suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March that killed thousands and triggered a nuclear crisis.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense said a plane with seven prefabricated buildings and other aid will leave for Turkey in the afternoon.

Relations between the two have been tense over last year's Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed nine Turkish activists.

Turkey has suffered major earthquakes in recent years.

A magnitude-7.6 earthquake in Izmit killed more than 17,000 people in 1999, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A magnitude-7.2 tremor in Duzce the same year killed 894 people, the agency reported.

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