The body of a 33-year-old Canadian woman who was visiting Turkey has been found in the rubble of a building that collapsed on February 6 during the violent earthquake that killed thousands in that country.
Saad Zora said on Tuesday that his twin sister, Samar, who is from Halifax like her brothers, was found by rescue workers on Tuesday as an excavator was digging through the rubble of a collapsed five-storey building in Antakya, near the northern border of Syria.
Samar Zora had recently arrived in this historic city of Antakya for her doctoral work in anthropology.
Mr. Zora was told that his sister had been found, but did not survive. In a telephone interview from Antakya, Mr. Zora said that he and his brother Muthana had gone to Turkey last week to look for their sister, and that they had stayed near the scene of the excavation of the building.
He says he is grateful to local people and search and rescue teams, who helped find his sister. Mr. Zora added that the owner of the building could have contributed to the excavation by pointing out certain pieces of furniture associated with particular floors.
He said he and his siblings plan to donate proceeds from a crowdfunding campaign in memory of his sister to help other earthquake victims in Turkey’s hard-hit Hatay province.
The 7.8 magnitude quake and powerful aftershocks flattened or damaged tens of thousands of buildings, destroyed roads and closed airports for some time.
The earthquake affected 10 provinces of Turkey which are home to some 13.5 million people, as well as a large area of northwestern Syria which is home to millions. The death toll has passed 39,000, including more than 35,000 in Turkey.
Mr Zora said on Tuesday his twin sister was born two minutes before him. “I always felt like she was my little sister, but I realized recently that she was an old soul — the wise old sister — who gives me advice, especially during difficult times,” said he declared.
“What I remember the most is his laugh. She loved to laugh and had a really strong appreciation for culture and especially Middle Eastern culture, and that started to grow exponentially during her studies, he said. She was full of life, she was a very sweet and generous person. »
Jérémie Bérubé, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said that to date he had “received approximately 80 inquiries from Canadians regarding these earthquakes”.
Mr. Bérubé said there are about 7,557 Canadians listed in a government database as “living in Turkey,” as well as 1,390 who listed as “living in Syria.”