
Audio By Carbonatix
A baby born under the rubble of a collapsed building in Syria, and the only member of her immediate family to survive a massive earthquake, has been adopted by her aunt and uncle.
Thousands of people had offered to adopt the newborn, who was still connected to her mother by her umbilical cord when she was rescued.
She was discharged from hospital after a DNA test confirmed her aunt was a blood relative.
Doctors said she was in good health.
"She is one of my children now," her uncle by marriage Khalil al-Sawadi told the Associated Press news agency." I will not differentiate between her and my children."
The baby has now been named after her late mother Afraa. Shortly after she was rescued, officials had named her Aya, which means miracle in Arabic.

A video of her rescue shortly after the tremor went viral on social media.
Dramatic footage showed a man sprinting away from the debris as he carried her covered in dust in his arms. She had reportedly been under the collapsed building for more than 10 hours and doctors said she had arrived to hospital in a bad condition, with bruises and cuts all over her body.

The building in which her family lived was one of about 50 reportedly destroyed by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Jindayris, an opposition-held town in Idlib province that is close to the Turkish border.
Her mother went into labour soon after the disaster and gave birth before she died, a relative said. Her father, four siblings and an aunt were also killed.
"This girl means so much to us because there's no-one left of her family besides this baby," Mr Sawadi told Reuters news agency. "She'll be a memory for me, for her aunt and for all of our relatives in the village of her mother and father."
Mr Sawadi, who was present when she was rescued, told the Associated Press he had been worried someone might kidnap Afraa during her two weeks in hospital as offers to adopt her flooded in.

Her family who took her in said that the best place for Afraa was with family, however difficult their situation.
Mr Sawadi and his wife Hala's home was also destroyed in the earthquake and they are staying with cousins.
They both welcomed a baby girl born to Hala three days after the earthquake.
Latest Stories
-
Cabinet begins final review of government’s position on constitutional reforms
20 minutes -
Ghana’s Diamond Rackets stun Kenya with 2026 Billie Jean Cup opening win
21 minutes -
Forcing citizens to join clean-up exercise is illegal without by-law backing – Samson Anyenini
36 minutes -
Credit conditions improved in first 4 months of 2026, but loans to public sector continue to decline
37 minutes -
Maiden Africa Golf tourism convention launched in Johannesburg
48 minutes -
Hope: the future tense of continuity
56 minutes -
From extraction to transformation: Africa’s critical minerals moment
59 minutes -
15-year-old Wofford completes Meet of Champions 2026 with three medals
2 hours -
Israeli film industry seeks rebound with investors through new film ‘Our Loves’
2 hours -
DVLA to replace all Ghana vehicle number plates by 2028 under new digital system
2 hours -
TUSAAG to resume indefinite strike July 20 over unpaid allowances
2 hours -
Saltpond Methodist A Basic School receives 10-seater toilet facility from alumnus
2 hours -
Divided mandates, shared crises: Institutional intersections in Ghana’s flood management
3 hours -
Most young Ghanaians want marriage and children but jobs and finances stand in the way – UNFPA Report
3 hours -
Accra-Tema Motorway reconstruction 48% complete with drainage works reducing flooding
3 hours