Syrian man declared dead in earthquake ‘comes back to life’ at his own funeral

Ahmad Al-Magribi, a Syrian man who was declared dead in the Feb. 6 devastating earthquake, miraculously “came back to life” at his own funeral. 

Rescue personnel discovered Al-Magribi’s unresponsive body under the rubble of a collapsed building in the Syrian town of Atrib. Believing he was dead, authorities transferred Al-Magribi to the morgue where he stayed for two days. 

Members of his family eventually identified Al-Magribi, who was placed in a body bag in preparation for his funeral. However, family members were shocked to discover at the funeral that he was indeed still alive. 

Al-Magribi was transported to the hospital and is currently receiving treatment. 

Al-Magribi is not the only person with a spectacular survival story from Turkey and Syria’s recent 7.8 earthquake, or the 7.5 earthquake that followed nine hours later. Newborn Syrian girl Aya miraculously emerged alive from the rubble of a collapsed five-story apartment building. 

Aya, whose name means “a sign from God,” survived for 10 hours under the rubble that killed both her parents and her four siblings. She ultimately was adopted by a great uncle.

Approximately 50,000 people were killed in the devastating earthquakes and about 2 million people lost their homes. 

Israel was one of the first countries to send extensive humanitarian aid to Turkey. While Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Syria, Israeli humanitarian aid has also reached Syrian survivors. 

Lt.-Col. Aziz Ibrahim, an Arab-Israeli commander in the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps, and a nurse by training, recalled his experience treating wounded Syrian refugees in Turkey. 

“This is an area with a lot of Syrian refugees. This boy was rescued three or four days ago. His whole family was killed, and he was brought by his uncle. We treated him and calmed him down. He came in moderate to serious condition,” Ibrahim said.