The 16 babies pulled from rubble and evacuated on Erdogan’s private jet

More than a dozen babies pulled from the rubble in southern Turkey have been put on the president’s plane and flown to safety.

The plane of Recep Tayyip Erodgan was used to lift 16 babies from Kahramanmaras to the capital of Ankara, following Monday’s earthquakes that left more than 12,000 dead.  

Mr Erdogan’s jet is being used to evacuate the injured, and also move rescue teams around the country, according to Turkish media reports.

Emine Erdogan, the president’s wife, was photographed visiting the babies after they arrived in Turkish hospitals.

The fate of the parents’ babies, however, is unclear. In the photographs from the plane, it seemed they were being held by rescue workers and volunteers as they slept.

Southern Turkey and northwestern Syria have been ravaged by Monday’s earthquakes, which have destroyed entire towns and villages and killed thousands across the region.

In Turkey, dozens of countries including Britain and even Ukraine have sent rescue teams to assist in pulling survivors from the rubble.

The situation is much more difficult in neighbouring, rebel-held northwestern Syria.

The White Helmets, the rescuers well-known for their work protecting civilians during the ongoing civil war, are trying to prise survivors out of debris in freezing conditions.

But unlike in Turkey, little international aid has arrived to support them, with none arriving in the worst hit areas in the northwest according to local reports.

In both countries the rescue effort continues today. However, the 72-hour window in which most survivors of earthquake disasters are rescued has passed.

It is feared that many already trapped under the rubble who have not yet been saved will pass away from internal injuries, dehydration or hypothermia.