Rescuers work at a site of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Izmir province, Turkey, on Oct. 31, 2020. (Xinhua Photo)

Rescuers pulled two children from the rubble in a town in Turkey on Monday, providing hope nearly three days after a major earthquake hit the Aegean, killing 94 people and damaging or destroying dozens of buildings.

Three-year-old Elif Perincek was rescued 65 hours after the 7.0-magnitude quake left a trail of destruction in western Turkey and eastern Greece on Friday, Turkey's AFAD emergency authority said.

Local media showed a video of a little girl wrapped up in a foil blanket quickly taken to safety in the coastal town of Bayrakli - the hardest hit by the disaster - as rescue workers broke into applause.

Hours later, Turkish state television showed images of the girl, her right eye closed by a purple bruise, waving to the camera from her hospital bed, a doll resting on her chest. 

Muammer Celik, a fireman who found and saved Elif, told AFP that he thought the toddler was dead when he saw her lying on her back, covered by white dust.

"I asked for a body bag. I wanted to wipe the dust from her face and put out my hand toward her - and then suddenly she grabbed my thumb," he recalled.

"We froze. We were crying with joy," Celik said. "We forgot everything in that moment!"

A photo of Elif holding Celik's hand went viral in Turkey. The fireman said she did not let go until she was taken to a tent for safety nearby.

Elif was the 106th person pulled out alive from collapsed buildings in Bayrakli and surrounding towns and cities in western Turkey.

AFP