Three-and-a-half-month-old Vetin Begdas and her mother, Yasemin Begdas, have been reconnected after the toddler spent 128 hours trapped in the wreckage of Turkey's devastating earthquake in February.
According to the Anadolu Agency, Yasemin had earlier been pronounced dead. Vetin was saved from a collapsed structure in the province of Hatay, and doctors gave him the moniker Gizem (Mystery).
Derya Yanik, the nation's Minister of Family and Social Services, assisted in bringing the two back together after DNA testing established their connection.
On Monday, Yanik posted a video of the reunion to his Twitter account, showing Yasemin and Vetin cuddling in a bed at the hospital in Adana, where she is getting treatment. From Ankara, where she was also getting medical attention, the infant was flown. Vetin is now their infant too, according to Yanik.
The heartwarming story of baby "Mystery" touched many, and photos of her rescue alongside those of other infants and toddlers were circulated on social media in the early days of the earthquake's rescue efforts.
Despite losing her father and two brothers in the disaster, Vetin survived without health problems. The earthquake caused over 50,000 fatalities, including more than 44,000 in Turkey alone, and more than 20 million people continue to be affected by its aftermath.
