KAHRAMANMARAS: This is the last time Mesut Hancer will hold hands with his 15-year-old daughter.
And despite the freezing weather, he refuses to let go, stroking his waxen fingers after his death in the dreaded earthquake which devastated southern Turkey and neighboring Syria.
Wrapped in a neon orange jacket, Hancer knelt beside the lifeless body of Irmak as he lay under rubble on a mattress near the epicenter of the quake in Kahramanmaras province.
He was too distressed to speak. He simply sat down and held his protruding hand, the rest of his body still hidden by huge slabs of concrete.
Irmak is one of more than 6,256 people who died in Turkey and Syria after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on Monday, injuring thousands and leaving millions unable to return home because their apartments no longer exist or could collapse due to an aftershock.
For Irmak, it is too late.
But as each hour brings more horror, fury and frustration are rising in Kahramanmaras, where locals are lashing out at the state for what they see as its slow response to Turkey’s biggest disaster. for decades.
“Where is the state? Where are they ? I can’t get my brother back from the ruins. I can’t reach my nephew.
His father and brother disappeared into the rubble, their fate unknown.
The devastation is overwhelming. Eight apartment buildings over 10 stories tall in a downtown area collapsed in the first earthquake that struck before dawn.
Several powerful aftershocks followed.
Very few were able to escape from the eight buildings and it is believed that around 150 people lived in each block.
Sagiroglu was not alone in his anger.
Not wanting to wait any longer for help to arrive, some families used their bare hands to find their loved ones, dead or alive.
AFP teams witnessed many areas of Kahramanmaras in which groups of survivors stood alone, without any government team offering food, medical aid or other forms of support.
An eerie silence fell over the city center on Tuesday afternoon.
“Yesterday we could hear a lot of people in the ruins crying for help but this morning it’s silence. They must be dead because of the cold,” said a man in his 40s, refusing to answer. give his name.
Those lucky enough to be alive huddle around bonfires for warmth, while others seek shelter from the strong wind and rain in their cars.
Temperatures dropped to -3 degrees Celsius (26 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.
Cuma Yildiz, a man in his 60s, accused officials of showing no mercy.
“Where are they now, where?” He asked. “They have no pity, they have no compassion,” he thundered.
Under pressure from a tough election in May, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday pledged to spend 100 billion lira ($5.3 billion) on various quake relief measures.
He also promised that “many” members of the armed forces would soon participate in the search and rescue efforts.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu separately went on live television from Kahramanmaras to insist that 2,000 search and rescue personnel were at work in the province.
Onur Kayai was so in need of help in the neighboring province of Hatay, near the Syrian border, that he chased two relief agency vehicles to help save his mother and brother, but to no avail.
“We need urgent help,” said the 40-year-old NGO worker. “My mother’s voice is louder, but my brother makes no sound,” he said, pacing past a damaged building.
Semire Coban, a kindergarten teacher, was equally upset.
She patiently waited for rescuers to arrive, but was distressed that her nephew and two other trapped relatives did not return her calls.
“Teams prefer to work in rubble where they can hear voices,” she said.
And despite the freezing weather, he refuses to let go, stroking his waxen fingers after his death in the dreaded earthquake which devastated southern Turkey and neighboring Syria.
Wrapped in a neon orange jacket, Hancer knelt beside the lifeless body of Irmak as he lay under rubble on a mattress near the epicenter of the quake in Kahramanmaras province.
He was too distressed to speak. He simply sat down and held his protruding hand, the rest of his body still hidden by huge slabs of concrete.
Irmak is one of more than 6,256 people who died in Turkey and Syria after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on Monday, injuring thousands and leaving millions unable to return home because their apartments no longer exist or could collapse due to an aftershock.
For Irmak, it is too late.
But as each hour brings more horror, fury and frustration are rising in Kahramanmaras, where locals are lashing out at the state for what they see as its slow response to Turkey’s biggest disaster. for decades.
“Where is the state? Where are they ? I can’t get my brother back from the ruins. I can’t reach my nephew.
His father and brother disappeared into the rubble, their fate unknown.
The devastation is overwhelming. Eight apartment buildings over 10 stories tall in a downtown area collapsed in the first earthquake that struck before dawn.
Several powerful aftershocks followed.
Very few were able to escape from the eight buildings and it is believed that around 150 people lived in each block.
Sagiroglu was not alone in his anger.
Not wanting to wait any longer for help to arrive, some families used their bare hands to find their loved ones, dead or alive.
AFP teams witnessed many areas of Kahramanmaras in which groups of survivors stood alone, without any government team offering food, medical aid or other forms of support.
An eerie silence fell over the city center on Tuesday afternoon.
“Yesterday we could hear a lot of people in the ruins crying for help but this morning it’s silence. They must be dead because of the cold,” said a man in his 40s, refusing to answer. give his name.
Those lucky enough to be alive huddle around bonfires for warmth, while others seek shelter from the strong wind and rain in their cars.
Temperatures dropped to -3 degrees Celsius (26 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.
Cuma Yildiz, a man in his 60s, accused officials of showing no mercy.
“Where are they now, where?” He asked. “They have no pity, they have no compassion,” he thundered.
Under pressure from a tough election in May, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday pledged to spend 100 billion lira ($5.3 billion) on various quake relief measures.
He also promised that “many” members of the armed forces would soon participate in the search and rescue efforts.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu separately went on live television from Kahramanmaras to insist that 2,000 search and rescue personnel were at work in the province.
Onur Kayai was so in need of help in the neighboring province of Hatay, near the Syrian border, that he chased two relief agency vehicles to help save his mother and brother, but to no avail.
“We need urgent help,” said the 40-year-old NGO worker. “My mother’s voice is louder, but my brother makes no sound,” he said, pacing past a damaged building.
Semire Coban, a kindergarten teacher, was equally upset.
She patiently waited for rescuers to arrive, but was distressed that her nephew and two other trapped relatives did not return her calls.
“Teams prefer to work in rubble where they can hear voices,” she said.
