Harrowing Footage Shows Reporter Fleeing Collapsing Building and Carrying a Child to Safety in Earthquake-Devastated Turkey

A Turkish news team had to run for their lives when a building collapsed in the middle of their live report on the earthquake that hit the country.

Turkey and Syria were devastated on Monday when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the region, which was followed by a number of severe aftershocks. Rescue efforts are underway, but the property damage is incalculable, more than 2,000 people have been confirmed dead, and the death toll is expected to rise.

Following the earthquake, an A Haber television reporter identified as Yuksel Akalan delivered a report from Malatya, where he and others were surveying the local damages. Akalan, his cameraman, and the crowd suddenly started running after a siren went off, and a loud, crashing noise could be heard from the video.

When the news team reached an open square full of debris, they turned back to show a huge dust cloud from a building that just collapsed behind them.

“As we were heading to the rubble to (film) search and rescue efforts, there were two consecutive aftershocks with a loud noise, and the building you are seeing on my left was brought down to earth,” Akalan said, according to a translation. Akalan then greeted others fleeing the area, including a mother and her daughter who was whimpering in clear distress. Akalan urged the girl to remain calm, picked her up and helped bring her to safety.

Watch above via NBC News.