After being caught up in the Turkey earthquake, a heartbroken family travelling from the UK for a funeral found themselves in the midst of a catastrophe.
After her father passed away on Tuesday, January 31, Eylem Yildiz and three relatives travelled to Besni for the ceremony on Wednesday.
Busra Yildiz, the daughter who resides in Cardiff, remained in the UK to take care of her sisters.
The mother, aunt, uncle, and 1-year-old cousin of Busra were scheduled to arrive last week.
But bad weather meant their journey home was delayed.
When two earthquakes struck on Monday, the apartment block they were staying in was reduced to rubble.
Eylem has yet to be found, while Busra’s grandmother, Saadet Onder, and three other family members from Turkey are also missing.
Her aunt Emine Onder-Nizan, her uncle Engin Onder-Nizan and her cousin Mete Onder-Nizan, who all travelled from the UK, have been found.
Busra’s boyfriend Sam Thomas dubbed the disaster “carnage”
The death toll from the disaster is now approaching 24,000.
The carnage unfolded when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck near Gaziantep, and was followed by multiple aftershocks.
One, almost as large as the first, measured 7.5 magnitudes.
Busra, who was born in Besni and brought up in Swindon, travelled to Turkey on Monday to help.
The magnitude of the earthquake was classified as “major” on the official magnitude scale
Mr Thomas, from Bridgend, said: “On Tuesday, there were signs of life; they think they heard their grandmother because there were noises coming from the building.
“They were able to speak to the aunt on Wednesday. Then everything went quiet.
The 24-year-old said signs of life had been detected with heat-sensitive cameras.
A lack of machinery meant people were digging through rubble by hand.
He called the situation “complete carnage.”
Image caption,
Sam Thomas describes his girlfriend Busra as “so brave”
Mr Thomas, a web designer, said: “It’s just heartbreaking to know they can hear people in there.
“This week, Busra witnessed childhood friends and family being dragged out dead.
“She has seen dead children. I cannot imagine what she is feeling like.”
The UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee’s raised £32.9 million on its first day, including $5 million matched by the UK government, for Turkey and Syria.
Busra, 24, has been sleeping in a “fabricated pod”. Her boyfriend said: “She is so strong, I don’t know how she does it.”
He praised his girlfriend for being “so brave”.
“I am praying they are all alive and hoping they will all come out,” Mr Thomas said.
“I really want my loved ones out of that building.
“I believe in my heart of hearts they are going to be found and they are going to be okay.
“They are all religious people and strong women. It is breaking my heart they are being put through this.”
Brazil and Switzerland have called for the UN Security Council to meet next week to discuss its response to the situation in Syria, which was also affected.
Mr Thomas said he was feeling “pretty horrendous”, and he is being supported by friends and family.
“This has been the worst five days of my life, it feels like one big day,” he said.
“It’s not my blood family, and I can’t imagine what it would be like to have my mom trapped there in a building.”