Turkey earthquake: Heartbreaking picture of a 7-year-old shielding her brother under rubble in Syria goes viral

A video of a young girl shielding her little brother, after being stuck under the rubble of their collapsed home in Syria has been melting hearts online. The 17-second video that shows a 7-year-old girl and her brother has gone viral on social media.

She was seen placing her hand over her brother’s head protecting him. The siblings were able to make it out safely after being trapped under the rubble for 17 hours. The picture was posted on Twitter by UN representative Mohamad Safa.

“The 7-year-old girl who kept her hand on her little brother's head to protect him while they were under the rubble for 17 hours has made it safely. I see no one sharing. If she were dead, everyone would share! Share positivity,” Safa tweeted.

The picture left the social media users emotional with many praising the young girl for her gesture and calling her ‘a little hero’.

More than 8, 300 people were been killed after a massive earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit Turkey and Syria on Monday followed by another powerful one toppling buildings.

Some extraordinary survival tales have emerged including a newborn baby pulled alive from rubble in Syria, still tied by her umbilical cord to her mother who died in the quake.

Thousands have been injured and many are reported missing with the rescue teams racing against time in bitter cold to dig the survivors out of the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Many countries including the US, China and India have pledged help and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency in ten provinces of the country.

Turkey is in one of the world's most active earthquake zones.