As the hours tick by and the death toll continues to rise after an earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, heartwarming tales have emerged amid the overwhelming grief.

While the magnitude-7.8 earthquake left some 8,000 dead in Turkey and the north-western regions of its neighbour Syria, a seven-year-old Syrian girl was found cradling her younger brother while buried under debris, her hand shielding his head from the concrete above.

On social media, the photo tweeted by United Nations official Mohamad Safa stole hearts, garnering more than 4.5 million views and 168,000 likes. The siblings were buried for 17 hours but have made it to safety, he said.

Against all odds, a newborn baby girl in north-west Syria was found in a collapsed building – appearing to be the only surviving member of her family. She was reportedly found with her umbilical cord attached to her mother and has been taken to a hospital.

Meanwhile, Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu was found alive near the epicentre of the earthquake in the southern province of Hatay in Turkey, and was pulled to safety from the debris.

In the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, a man was found standing atop the remains of a six-storey apartment building that was reduced to a pile of concrete rubble.

He was attempting to get help for his brother, who lived on the fifth floor with his wife and children, and was trapped in the ruins below, as rescuers attempted to make their way through the rubble.

It was a bittersweet rescue – the trapped husband, his wife and two children were eventually rescued by workers more than 24 hours after the building collapsed on Monday, The New York Times (NYT) reported. But their remaining two children, boys aged 11 and 12, have not been found.

Stories of miracle survivors, however, provide only temporary respite from the horrors of the disaster. The United Nations children’s agency on Tuesday estimated that thousands of children have been killed, reported Reuters.

Across the earthquake-struck areas, entire apartment blocks have been toppled, hospitals wrecked, and thousands of people left injured or homeless.

At least 150,000 people in Turkey have been left homeless by the earthquake and its aftershocks, and about 6,000 buildings collapsed, NYT reported. Around 23 million people in the region were likely in need of aid, World Health Organisation officials said.

Rescue efforts are under way despite freezing temperatures, with more than 8,000 people saved in Turkey alone. But more are feared dead, with many people still believed to be trapped in collapsed buildings.

In Kahramanmaras in Turkey, close to the quake’s epicentre, a man was pictured holding his dead daughter’s hand while her body was trapped under rubble.

Identified as Mr Mesut Hancer, he was trying to keep warm in the cold in a thick orange jacket as he stoically clung on to the hand of 15-year-old Irmak, as she lay on her bed beneath slabs of concrete, smashed windows and broken bricks that were once apartments.

Meanwhile, survivors are reeling from the effects of the natural disaster. A family in Gaziantep battled the cold weather as they camped near their destroyed apartment building, AFP reported. Others lack food and water.

In Gaziantep, survivors camped outside their collapsed homes and attempted to stay warm among piles of snow, waiting for help to rescue loved ones.

Some families took turns to take shelter from the brutal weather in their cars, while others erected simple tents, reported NYT.

On some streets, crowds gathered around wood fires, smoking and holding out their bare palms to keep warm. The conditions are challenging.

But videos, photos and tales of survivors filtering through the sorrow are helping some keep the faith.