Turkey earthquake: 'It was like the last day on earth'

TURKEY - The earthquake that shook the country on February 6 turned out to be a nightmare for a family living in Antakya.

Irfan Ustikin, 37, who is a citizen of Turkey, said when the incident occurred at about 4am, he and his wife, Fatmanur Ibrahim, 34, and their two children aged 3 and one year were sleeping in a room on the sixth floor, in an eight storey building.

In the blink of an eye, he said, the tremor from the earthquake cause his residential building to collapse, without them having time to take any action.

"We were on the bed at the time and suddenly the floor, walls and ceiling were collapsing on us . At that time we didn't have time to save ourselves.

"Fortunately, the collapse of the ceiling at the top did not affect our family. Only the wall fell on my feet," he told Sinar at his father's house.

The impact of the incident caused Irfan's right leg to be fractured.

"I felt like the world was ending. That is how I can describe it " he said.

In the tragedy, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) of Turkey reported that the victims of the earthquake were reported to be from the southern regions of Kahramanmaras, Adana, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis and Malatya and the southeast of Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, and Gaziantep.

The earthquake zone is estimated to have a population of 13.5 million people and many of them are displaced.

As of Wednesday, at least 42,310 people have been killed and more than 13 million people have been displaced, including some of the 3.5 million Syrian refugees living in the country.

The earthquake was touted to be one of the biggest to hit Turkey in the last 100 years since 1939.

Irfan added that he was thankful to save himself through the cracks of the building after being trapped for more than five hours.

"We had to be very careful because we were worried that if we acted too hastily, the narrow space that saved us would collapse.

"In any case, I am grateful that my wife and children are safe and did not suffer any injuries," he said.

Even so, Irfan said, he was still sad because all his neighbors who lived in the same building had died.

Meanwhile, Fatmanur said, at the time of the incident, she was protecting her second son while her eldest daughter was under her husband's body.

She said, due to the spontaneous move, the lives of their two children were saved.

"And Alhamdulillah, we were also protected. At that time my husband did not know that his leg was broken and still tried to ensure that we were safe.

"When he was outside, he felt sick and was immediately sent to the hospital," she said.

Sinar Harian together with Syria Care and Task Emergency Medical Service (TEMS) are currently in Turkey on a mission to distribute aid to earthquake victims including those in Syria.

The public can participate in this mission by donating to the #BantuanBencana Sinar Karangkraf x Syria Care Fund.

Those who wish to contribute, can channel the donation to Sinar's Maybank account , Sinar Karangkraf Sdn Bhd, 564276-529068.

Donations can also be made to #BantuanBecana Sinar Karangkraf x Syria Care Fund via this link: https://info.sinarharian.com.my/tabung-bantuanbencana-sinar-karangkraf-x-syria-care/