Turkey earthquake: Sisters ‘lost hope’ before being rescued from rubble after four days

Published

3 years ago

February 15, 2023

admin

Two sisters who spent more than four days trapped in the rubble of their collapsed apartment say the whole block slid in one direction as last week’s enormous earthquake struck in southern Turkey.

They were speaking to Sky News as the people of Kahramanmaras begin the process of reclaiming their community from the destruction that marks their city.

Plastic tents have been erected in parks and plazas and the authorities have started to restore power and water.

While the survivors will face months or even years of discomfort as they begin to rebuild their lives, there are acts of courage they can draw upon.

Each of a small number of residents rescued from the rubble possesses a tale of wonder.

We first caught a glimpse of sisters Zeynep and Elife Civi as they were carried out of the remains of their seven-storey apartment block on a pair of battered-looking stretchers after it collapsed in the early hours of Monday 6 February.

Zeynep, 22, was crying and shivering in a pair of polka-dot pyjamas.

“Yes, I was crying because I was so happy,” she said. “I was shivering because it was very cold. It was so cold, I couldn’t feel my feet.”

We met them at Kahramanmaras’s University Hospital, where they are now recovering from their ordeal.

Law student Elife is 20. She told us she would not have survived without Zeynep.

“I was lucky to have my big sister with me, because if I had been by myself it would have been much harder,” she said. “We were under the bed. We survived together. It was cold and we were afraid.”

I asked Elife what happened when the tremors began. “We thought it would shake a little and stop but that didn’t happen,” she said.

“The building slid – I felt it slide like this,” she said, indicating how the entire building started to move in one direction. “The whole room slid.”

Zeynep made a critical decision when she realised the block was about to implode.

“I was about to go to my mother’s (room),” she said. “I stopped at that moment and waited. I heard the sound of the building crashing down, floor by floor, like ‘boom’, ‘boom’. At that moment, I put the head of Elife (under) the bed, and then I got under the bed. That is how it happened.”

The Civi sisters were trapped in an air pocket under Zeynep’s bed with no possible means of escape.

“We were close to each other,” Zeynep said, “but we had enough room to turn left or right and the height was like this,” she explained, putting her hand just above her head. “I was able to sit up when my legs went numb and I turned to the other side.”

It was damp and cold – the temperature plunging below zero at night – and they had nothing to eat and drink. Did their predicament seem hopeless, I asked.

“Yes,” Elife replied. “I thought that if they didn’t rescue us on the last day, that would be it. I couldn’t go on without water. I couldn’t sleep because I was so thirsty. I couldn’t move; I couldn’t scream. We had to scream when we heard a sound (outside), but I was no longer able to scream. I couldn’t scream anymore.”

Many of their neighbours in the block, and in nearby buildings, lost their lives. We saw local people trying to retrieve the bodies of residents that were wedged between the cracks of concrete. Seeking some dignity, volunteers held up blankets to shield the victims from view.

The whereabouts of thousands of people in Kahramanmaras are currently unknown – a number that includes Zeynep and Eilfe’s mother and father, who are missing.

Their daughters are deeply concerned. Zeynep said: “I was calling out for my mother – are you ok? I couldn’t hear anything. It was very bad.”

The sisters did have company of sorts under the rubble. There was a man with a baby in an air pocket on the floor below them, and together they tried to raise the alarm. On the morning of the fourth day, they heard a member of an Israeli-Turkish rescue team call out to them.

“I had some cream in my hand and so I started tapping with the (cream’s) box,” Elife said. “The man who was under us was also shouting – we had a connection at that moment.

“I thought the rescue team had come to rescue the man and child but they came to us. They heard our voices and they asked my name. I said ‘Elife’ and I told them my sister’s name. It was an unbelievable moment. At that moment I said: ‘We’re saved.'”

By that stage, Zeynep had already given up hope of being found, she told us.

“We heard some machines, but that was on the first day and the second day. I told Elife: ‘They have forgotten us, why didn’t they come, why has no one come to rescue us?'”

Zeynep went on: “On the last day I had lost hope. I told Elife: ‘We will die, you know?’ Finally, we heard a low sound and then they came to us and said ‘we can hear you’ and we did our best to make a sound. Eventually they brought us out.”

The sisters suffered cuts and bruising and were badly dehydrated. Both still feel desperately tired, but are glad to be alive.

How will this experience change your life, I asked Elife.

“I believe that everything happens in a second,” she said. “Maybe we are alive now, but we can disappear tomorrow. That’s why I will live life to the fullest.”

Their story of resilience shines like a light in this devastated city. Their fellow residents – and survivors – will require similar qualities to get through the coming months and years.

World

Ukraine: How powerful are the Storm Shadow missiles donated by Britain?

Published

12 hours ago

October 22, 2025

admin

Ukraine: How powerful are the Storm Shadow missiles donated by Britain?

Storm Shadow cruise missiles made in the UK and donated to Ukraine have once again been used to strike targets inside Russia.

The long-range weapons – which cost roughly £2m each – have been used to devastating effect in the Black Sea, sinking or damaging several Russian ships, and now against a chemical plant.

Last year, Ukraine’s allies lifted restrictions on Storm Shadows and other long-range missiles, meaning Kyiv’s military can use them against targets across the border.

Follow latest: Storm Shadow missiles used in ‘massive’ attack on Russia

What are Storm Shadow missiles?

Storm Shadows are cruise missiles developed by the UK and France in the 1990s.

Launched from aircraft, they have a range more than 155 miles, manufacturer MBDA says, and can travel at speeds exceeding 600mph.

The missiles can be used with high precision for deep strikes while evading detection, the manufacturer says.

They have been used by the RAF and French air force and in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya, and more recently have been used by Ukrainian forces.

What sets them apart from some other projectiles is they use terrain mapping to navigate to their target, rather than relying just on GPS, military analyst Sean Bell says.

How have they been used in Ukraine?

Back in May 2023, the UK government announced it would provide Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles – the first country to do so.

Since then they have been used by Kyiv’s defenders to strike Russian targets inside Ukraine and also inside Russia.

While operational details of their use do not always emerge, it has been reported Storm Shadows have been used against targets including military headquarters and ships.

Storm Shadows can likely be operated entirely from within Ukraine, though probably with the assistance of intelligence gathered by Western surveillance planes over international waters.

World

Police helicopter targeted with lasers by ‘mob intent on violence’ in Dublin

Published

21 hours ago

October 22, 2025

admin

Police helicopter targeted with lasers by 'mob intent on violence' in Dublin

A police officer has been injured after a night of violent protests outside an asylum hotel in Dublin – with six arrests made.

Bricks were thrown and fireworks were discharged outside the Citywest Hotel – with glass bottles used as missiles and a police van set on fire.

A Garda helicopter was also targeted with lasers, and the police service says some of those on the streets were seen carrying garden forks.

Commissioner Justin Kelly added: “This was obviously not a peaceful protest. The actions this evening can only be described as thuggery. This was a mob intent on violence.

“We will now begin the process of identifying those who committed crimes and we will bring those involved in this violence to justice.”

It is the second night of demonstrations after an alleged sexual assault in its vicinity in the early hours of Monday morning.

Some of the crowd threw stones and other missiles at the public order officers as they moved the protesters back – and water cannon was deployed at the scene.

A line of officers was preventing the protesters from approaching the hotel.

This protest felt different

There had been a small protest on Monday outside the former Citywest Hotel, now an asylum centre, but last night’s felt very different.

The 26-year-old man who allegedly attacked the young girl had appeared in court yesterday morning, charged with sexual assault. He can’t be named but an Arabic translator was requested. Anger grew online, and another protest was called.

It’s hard to get a clear estimate of numbers, partly due to the street geography around the former hotel, but it’s thought up to 2,000 attended. Most were peaceful, some were not. After a Garda van was torched, a major policing operation began.

The smell of fireworks hung in the air as youths hurled missiles at the Gardai. A Garda water cannon truck was deployed for the first time in the Republic of Ireland, parked visibly behind the riot officers.

I spoke to local residents who had reasonable concerns about the influx of asylum seekers to the community in recent years. Most did not approve of violent protest, but they articulated the anger and pain felt by many here after the attack on the young girl.

Although it has not been confirmed officially that the accused is an asylum seeker, most of the local residents had the same message: the enemy is not necessarily those who come to Ireland, rather it’s the perceived open-doors policy of the Irish government.

‘Those involved will be brought to justice’

Ireland’s premier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, paid tribute to the officers who were on the frontline of the protests.

“There can be no justification for the vile abuse against them, or the attempted assaults and attacks on members of the force that will shock all right-thinking people,” he said.

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said those involved in the violence will be brought to justice.

“The scenes of public disorder we have witnessed at Citywest must be condemned,” he said.

“People threw missiles at Gardai, threw fireworks at them and set a Garda vehicle on fire.

“This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response from the Gardai.

“Those involved will be brought to justice.”

‘No excuse’ for violence

The minister said a man had been arrested and had appeared in court in relation to the alleged assault in the vicinity of the hotel.

He added: “While I am not in a position to comment any further on this criminal investigation, I have been advised that there is no ongoing threat to public safety in the area.”

He said attacks on officers would “not be tolerated”, adding: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. Violence is not.

“There is no excuse for the scenes we have witnessed.”

The demonstration on Monday night passed without a significant incident.

It comes two years after anti-immigrant demonstrators triggered a major riot in the centre of Dublin after three young children were stabbed.

World

Violent protests at Dublin hotel housing asylum seekers after alleged sexual assault

Published

1 day ago

October 21, 2025

admin

Violent protests at Dublin hotel housing asylum seekers after alleged sexual assault

A police van has been set on fire and missiles have been thrown at officers as protesters gathered outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Dublin.

It is the second night of demonstrations outside the Citywest Hotel after an alleged sexual assault in its vicinity in the early hours of Monday morning.

A large crowd has gathered in the area and members of the Garda’s public order unit have been deployed.

Footage from the scene showed a Garda vehicle on fire as well as several protesters displaying Irish flags.

Some of the crowd threw stones and other missiles at the public order officers as they moved the protesters back.

A Garda helicopter hovered overhead and a water cannon was deployed on the scene.

Ireland’s justice minister, Jim O’Callaghan, said those involved will be brought to justice.

“The scenes of public disorder we have witnessed at Citywest tonight must be condemned,” he said.

“People threw missiles at Gardai, threw fireworks at them and set a Garda vehicle on fire.

“This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response from the Gardai.

“Those involved will be brought to justice.”

The minister said a man had been arrested and had appeared in court in relation to the alleged assault in the vicinity of the hotel.

He added: “While I am not in a position to comment any further on this criminal investigation, I have been advised that there is no ongoing threat to public safety in the area.

He said attacks on gardai will “not be tolerated”, adding: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. Violence is not.

“There is no excuse for the scenes we have witnessed tonight.”

It was the second night of protest outside the hotel, which is being used as state accommodation for people seeking international protection. The demonstration on Monday night passed without a significant incident.

It comes two years after anti-immigrant demonstrators triggered a major riot in the centre of Dublin after three young children were stabbed.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.