Four days after Turkey quake, hope of finding survivors dims

South of the city of Antioch, the search continues on Friday February 10, more than 100 hours after the earthquake which hit southern Turkey and killed at least 21,000 people. Bosnian rescuers have been searching the rubble of a building since Thursday evening. Nearly 130 people could be under the remains of this fourteen-storey building. It’s one of the biggest search sites in town.

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Two cranes delicately remove the debris, a tunnel is dug in the mountain of rubble. Rescuers come out with personal belongings: a phone, shoes, a blanket. The relatives of the residents of this building are in a hurry. Suddenly, a cry rang out:“Be quiet”. The noises of jackhammers stop. The crowd freezes. Rescuers call: “Can you hear us? Is anyone alive?”

“I’m just waiting to get the bodies back”

The dogs didn’t feel anything, but the thermal cameras detected four or five hot bodies, a still beating heart. A lady stares at the construction site, her hands clenched, her eyes moist. His brother is there. “As long as he gets it out, God help us!”, she begs. Beside her, a man is in tears. His sister and brother-in-law are below, other relatives are in another building. There are no illusions: “There are only corpses that have been coming out for two days, he said. I’m just waiting to collect the bodies to bury them. Then, I will join my daughter in Istanbul. There’s nothing more to do here.”

Ambulances were dispatched along with piles of black body bags. The remains are placed on the ground in front of the hospitals. Some bodies are identified and recovered by their families, the others are taken to a mass grave outside the city. “There was nothing before, explains a resident of Antioch. Now there is a big hole.”