By Tom Bateman BBC News Adana Turkey
People search for survivors among the rubble in Adana, Turkey on June 6.
In the bitter cold of dawn, our reporters visited the site of the collapse of a 10-story building in the city of Adana in southwestern Turkey. Along the way, I met two women, wrapped in blankets, walking toward the rubble.
Umm Bayraktar and Najife Batmaz. They have taken refuge in a mosque in the city that has been a hub for relief efforts since the quake struck on the 6th.
Their home nearby was heavily damaged. They said they would go find Nurten, a friend of the two and Um’s cousin. We talked as we walked along the way.
A man accompanying us urges us not to walk by the building. He says it’s cracked. “Everyone collapses”.
I passed two men working with an excavator on the edge of a collapsed area. Six gloved and drilled rescue workers throw debris at the two.
We took a side street from there. I see a group of victims sitting around a fire to keep warm. Wrapped in a blanket and sitting in a plastic chair.
Umm and Najife found their friend Nurten wrapped in a blanket in the freezing cold. he sits and cries.
Her adult daughter Senay was on the second floor of the collapsed building. Nurten has waited here for days and nights, but nothing has come to light.
“I can’t sleep in a warm bed when my daughter is lying in the cold,” she cries.
“She hated the cold. She’s under the ground. It’s heartbreaking.”
I hear the sounds of drills and excavators. Her Nurten friends comfort her. Her daughter has two daughters. Both are studying abroad. She said she was on her way back to Turkey.
“What should I say to them? I’m here today. What should I tell them? They asked me to take care of my mother,” Nurten said.
In the affected areas, the sense of loss spreads faster than the search for survivors spreads.
image provided, Anadolu Agency
Woman rescued from rubble in Hatay Province, Turkey (7th)
Further south, from Hatay Province, near the Turkish-Syrian border, new news has arrived. It is one of the hardest-hit areas.
Footage shows residents searching through the rubble in the dark. This man believes someone is buried alive. “Speak up,” he pleads.
“As you can see, there’s a body here. It’s dead and we can’t contain it. I hear a female voice below.”
As he speaks, a woman screams through the rubble. She screams again and taps her metal to get the man’s attention. But he can’t do it alone. The entire house has collapsed and a machine is needed to lift the abandoned house.
Even if you shout, you will not get an answer. This is repeated all over the area.
Nearby, Deniz, who also lives in Hatay province, points to a collapsed building. His parents are locked up.
“My parents are making noise, but no one is coming. I am at a loss. I can’t help you. How can I help you?”
image provided, Anadolu Agency
A sad woman in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Thousands of buildings are believed to have collapsed in the city near the epicenter
In the city of Kahramanmaras, even closer to the epicenter, bonfires are blazing. Thousands of buildings were reportedly destroyed in the city and many more people were left homeless.
Frightened by the aftershocks, families are gathering, unable to return to their heavily damaged buildings. The only thing the family has is wood for the bonfire. The flame slightly warms my ungloved hands.
“We managed to escape from the house,” says Neshet Gurel.
“We have four children. We left the house at the last minute. Some people are trapped inside. It is a disaster. I’ll be waiting for you at
Local people are waiting for help, but it may not be available on the scale needed. In the meantime, more buildings are in danger of collapsing. And a small outdoor fire becomes the only way to keep warm.
Families under the rubble… search in blackout, cold and rain BBC reporter from Turkey
