Turkish doctor pictured holding dead friend survives attack

A young Turkish doctor who was pictured holding the hand of her friend in the aftermath of the suicide bombing on the Syrian border has survived her injuries and been transported to Istanbul for treatment, the Hurriyet daily said Wednesday.

In a picture that rapidly went viral on social media, two women were shown lying flat on their backs on the ground following the attack in the border town of Suruc that killed 32 people.

The newspaper said that young doctor Cagla Seven, 27, who had only recently passed her final exams to qualify as paediatrician, survived the blast despite severe injuries.

Her friend however reportedly died, it added.

"We do not see anything life threatening but we will have to follow a very serious treatment," said doctor Enver Dayioglu who had accompanied Seven after she was evacuated from southeastern Turkey.

Pictures showed that Seven raised her hand to make the victory sign from her stretcher as she was rushed to the Istanbul hospital to begin her treatment.

Reports said that she had 100 ball bearings implanted in her body after the blast and had required 14 blood transfusions.
Seven had been left unconscious after the blast and was rushed to a hospital outside Suruc.

She was then airlifted late on Tuesday to the Istanbul University Medical School Hospital, which is attached to the same university that she had graduated from.

The activists from the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) had arrived in Suruc to take part in a rebuilding mission for Kobane, which Kurdish forces had retaken from IS earlier this year.

The group, mainly consisting of students, had taken pictures of themselves smiling optimistically and had been photographed enjoying breakfast just before the attack.

Turkish press reports said that they had come from all over Turkey including Istanbul, the Black Sea region and the mainly Kurdish southeast.
The youngest victim was reportedly Okan Pirinc, 18, from the southern region of Antakya. Among the oldest was Nazegul Boyraz, 55, a mother of four from Istanbul.

Mother Ferdane Kilic, 55, and her son 25-year-old Nartan Kilic came to Suruc from the western city of Bursa and were killed in the attack, Hurriyet said.

Ferdane's daughter Sinem also lightly wounded and was Tuesday pictured carrying the coffins of her mother and brother at a funeral ceremony.

Cebrail Gunebakan, 24, meanwhile was a prominent activist who had previously been arrested by police while protesting over Turkish policy on Syria.