Girne shipwreck survivor names newborn daughter Alara

Menekşe Nur Akkaya Gökdaş, who survived a passenger ship capsizing off the coast of Girne while eight months pregnant, has given birth to a healthy baby girl.

During the accident, which occurred approximately 20 minutes after the vessel departed, Gökdaş and her father were trapped inside the sinking ship. After being rescued and subsequently treated for internal bleeding at Umuttepe Hospital in Turkey, she successfully delivered her daughter.

The family decided to name the infant Alara instead of their original choice, Deniz, to avoid associating the child with the trauma of the shipwreck. Gökdaş recently visited the Turkish Grand National Assembly with her 19-day-old daughter.