Grieving Turkish families in the North East have spoken of their anguish after losing loved ones in the devastating earthquake that has claimed thousands of lives and destroyed part of their homeland.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, with a second measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale and multiple aftershocks, struck south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria in the early hours of Monday morning.
The death toll rose to more than 5,000 on Tuesday as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings and an estimated 380,000 people are now seeking refuge amid severe winter weather conditions.
![The Northern Echo: The earthquake has flattened buildings]( "The Northern Echo: The earthquake has flattened buildings")
The earthquake has flattened buildings (Image: PA)
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Survivors are desperately in need of food, water, shelter and power, but roads and bridges - the crucial aid supply routes - have been rendered inaccessible.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said the disaster zone covers ten provinces, has imposed a state of emergency for the next three months.
Abdullah Ucar, 43, from Besni in Adiyaman, who drives a taxi in Newcastle, said his mother, sisters and three brothers are safe, but he has heard his uncle and several cousins were among the dead.
He said: “I know my uncle and his daughters have died. Many people have died. Many cousins. Only one is left.
“My family is living in a car. They have no home. I have no contact now. Their phones are switched off.”
Newcastle-based cab driver Yilmaz Karakus, 44, from Gölbaşı, Adiyaman, has five brothers and three sisters in the area.
He said: “One mum and daughter on my mum’s side, my cousins, have passed away. It is very hard for people there because there is no electric, no heat and no food. The roads are broken down. People cannot get to the villages to help them.
“We cannot do anything to help. The whole place is closed off. Even if we go down there we cannot do anything to help.”
Brothers Yunus and Eyyup Kandemir, who also drive taxis in Newcastle, and have lived in the UK over 20 years also have relatives in the Gölbaşı area.
Yunus said: “We have heard that on my father’s side, his cousin, his wife and their children have died.
“The city looks awful and I have heard 60 per cent of the buildings have collapsed.
“Many many apartments have been ruined. We are still waiting to hear how many people have died. We don’t know for sure.
“My parents cannot stay in their own house. They are staying in the park with their neighbours inside a tent. It’s very cold and people are hungry, they are suffering with starvation.”
Şahin Gülmen, chairman of Newcastle Turkish Association, which has also launched a disaster relief fund, said: “There are lots of families in this area who have got relations, mams, dads, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, who have been affected.
“They are worried and the Government is not accepting anyone into the earthquake area because there are lots of houses collapsing and lots of problems.
“Lots of roads have collapsed and there are lots of rescue teams and ambulances there.
“No-one is going to this area at the moment so there are lots people wanting to hear from their family about what is happening. It is very hard to go over there at the moment. It is very upsetting.”
To find out more or donate to the financial appeal look up Newcastle Turkish Association on Facebook.
Cengiz Akarsu, who runs a restaurant in Durham, but is originally from Elaziğ in the east of Turkey, said his best friend had also been missing since the earthquake struck.
His brother lives in Hatay, which has been devastated by the earthquake, and has lost his house.
The company he works for has moved him and his family to a hotel in Adana.
Mr Akarsu said he feels "helpless" knowing he is unable to help.
He told the BBC: “It's just like your family, you know and I know, they're in trouble and you're watching them.
"Everyone is like family... they don't have religion, they don't have colour, they don't have country, they are just human people dying.”
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the Turkish government is requesting international assistance “on a scale that matches the enormity of the situation that they are facing”.
Updating the Commons on the UK response, he said: “Across the region inhabited by more than 12 million people, more than 6,000 buildings have collapsed. Electricity and gas infrastructure has been severely damaged.
“Many of the 3.5 million Syrian refugees hosted by Turkey reside in the affected provinces. Turkey’s outstanding disaster relief response capability has been severely tested by the sheer scale of this catastrophe.
“The Turkish government has declared a state of emergency and they are requesting international assistance on a scale that matches the enormity of the situation that they are facing.
“Turkey will lead the disaster relief response in the areas of Syria where it has the presence.”
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Mr Cleverly said three British nationals are missing in the region.
He said: “As of this morning, we know that three British nationals are missing and the Foreign Office’s Crisis Response Hub is working to support the at least 35 British nationals who have been directly affected by these earthquakes.
“We assess that the likelihood of large-scale British casualties remains low.”
James Denselow, of Save the Children, said a historical aid presence in both countries will help get aid to people in need quickly, however, he said the aid route to northern Syria, where there is ongoing conflict, remains inadequate.
He said: “Northern Syria is an area where we were dealing with severe malnutrition and far more huge humanitarian needs than in other environments before this happened.
“If you’re a vulnerable population and then something else like this happens on top of that, obviously what happens to you is likely going to be far worse.
“We see that with very basic things like children’s physiology. The ability of a child to survive crash injury from a building falling on them is far reduced if they are malnourished.
“This is going to be about getting blankets, food, clean water, education kits – so children don’t find their studies completely devastated by this – to them.
“We need to keep those people warm, we need to keep young infants warm.”
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Mike Noyes, humanitarian director at ActionAid UK, said they had deployed workers from their team in Jordan to the disaster zones and had committed £40,000 from their emergency reserves to start giving relief in the form of tents, heating materials and clothes.
He said: “People have fled their homes with nothing so there’s a real immediate need for shelter, but also food, clothing and water as those things have been disrupted.
“Right now we’re trying to make sure we have the funding for this support because the financial needs are going to be massive in the immediate and longer-term as we help people recover and rebuild.
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“We know there are huge pressures on people in this country at the moment, but we also know from experience that people in this country open their eyes and see what’s going on in the rest of the world and have a great deal of sympathy.
“We’re confident in the UK public’s willingness to be generous, they are always willing to support those in desperate need at a time of humanitarian crisis. They’ve shown it again and again.
“What we can do in the next few days, if we have the resources, will save people’s lives.”
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