Turkey earthquake: Satellite images reveal extent of mass graves at rural cemetery
We knew the name of the village with the location pinpointed on our mobile phones, but we did not need a map to find a place called Kapicam.
Instead, we simply followed the traffic.
This unassuming community is located just south of the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, and hosts a couple of shops, a guest house and a cemetery where local residents are laid to rest.
But the track to the cemetery was jammed with ambulances and private cars and vans belonging to the regional municipality.
Each vehicle contained dead bodies – some wrapped in thick black plastic – others contained in bright green boxes, stacked inside.
Satellite image taken on 8 February shows a large convoy of vehicles arriving at the cemetery grounds. Pic: Maxar
This peaceful spot, nestled amidst the pine trees, had been turned into a factory for processing the dead – and the size of the operation was staggering.
With the death toll from two powerful earthquakes last month in Turkey now standing at approximately 45,000, many of those who lost their lives will be buried here in Kapicam.
The original plot, with a small number of white tomb stones, had been engulfed by recent activity.
Industrial excavators were digging trenches in every section of the cemetery’s hillside location – and in the distance, we saw a long row of tents erected on the top of the hill.
These tents form something of a reception centre for the sad procession of vehicles edging their way into the cemetery.
Tents being erected at the grave site are seen in a satellite image from 11 February. Pic: Maxar
Groups of volunteers and local officials waited outside each pavilion, retrieving the bodies and taking them inside.
The dead were washed and wrapped in clean linen – as religious ritual requires – and placed in wooden containers which were stacked up outside. Then, they were carried off to newly-dug graves.
We saw hundreds of grief-stricken relatives on the site, accompanying their loved ones as they were placed at the bottom of freshly prepared trenches.
The body of each victim is marked with a plain wooden board with a simple grave marker, with the name of the individual written in black ink.
In three days a large number of graves have been dug at the cemetery site. Pic: Maxar, 11 February
Lines of trenches with some measuring almost 100 metres have been dug at the rural site. Pic: Maxar
“I came here because my neighbours died in the rubble,” said a man called Mustafa who stopped to have a word with us.
“How many died,” I asked.
“I think, 28, yes 28 (of my neighbours),” he said.
“Do you know where they have been buried?” I asked.
“No, I don’t. But I needed to come here anyway.”
Many bodies at Kapicam have not been identified. The simple wooden memorials have been given numbers, scrawled in black ink, but there is nothing else to commemorate the victims’ time on earth.
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Much is now known about the scale of the disaster in Turkey. For example, 160,000 buildings containing 520,000 apartments have collapsed or were severely damaged.
But the authorities have been unable – or unwilling – to provide an estimate of the number of people still missing. Most think that number will run into the tens of thousands.
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Turkey’s ‘Disaster and Emergency Management Authority’ (AFAD) says that it is recording victims’ fingerprints and taking DNA samples – but the country lacks a clear procedure enabling loved ones to trace missing relatives.
The fate of Syrian refugees missing in the disaster is particularly pronounced for Turkey as it currently hosts millions of Syrians sheltering from civil war. Many of those refugees consumed in the rubble may never be identified.
Satellite pictures obtained by Sky News reveal how Kapicam’s rural cemetery has grown dramatically in just a few days. Yet it is only one of many sites in Turkey that now serve as makeshift resting places for those who were killed in the earthquakes.
Four weeks after the disaster, the authorities cannot say how many people were killed. However, one afternoon in this sorrowful spot says much about the scale of the tragedy.
Additional reporting by Adam Parker, OSINT editor, and Michael Greenfield, international producer
World
European leaders to meet in Ukraine for ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – and issue call to Russia
Sir Keir Starmer will join other European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the “coalition of the willing”.
The prime minister is attending the event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It will be the first time the leaders of the four countries will travel to Ukraine at the same time – on board a train to Kyiv – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kiev. Pic: Reuters
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement voicing support for Ukraine and calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
World
Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say
Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.
The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.
Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.
An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.
It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.
On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.
The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.
The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.
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Explained: India-Pakistan conflict
Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.
India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.
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Conclaves are famously unpredictable affairs – and once again the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new pope caught many by surprise.
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV won the consensus of the 133 cardinal electors after only four ballots – a fast process for a diverse college of cardinals.
Though his name had circulated among some Vatican watchers, other cardinals had emerged as clear front-runners, including Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s number two who would have been the first Italian in almost 50 years to become pontiff – or Luis Tagle, a Filipino cardinal looking to become the first Asian pope.
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Instead, it was the first North American to win the highly secretive process.
So, what went on behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel?
Until Thursday lunchtime, Cardinal Parolin was ahead, gathering between 45 and 55 votes, sources say.
A substantial number, but well short of the 89 votes he needed for a two-thirds majority.
At this point, Cardinal Prevost had between 34 and 44 votes.
But as the Italian struggled to grow his support during the first three rounds of voting, he stepped down from the race, endorsing Prevost instead, Sky News understands.
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An internal battle between Luis Tagle and Pablo Virgilio David – both cardinals hailing from Asia – cancelled out both of their chances.
And a contender from Africa – the most conservative sector of the church – was never likely for a conclave where the overwhelming majority of cardinals had been appointed by Francis, a progressive pontiff, sources say.
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An American pope has long been seen as highly improbable, given the geopolitical power of the US.
But Cardinal Prevost was able to draw from across the groups making up the electors: moderate US cardinals, South American cardinals and many European cardinals all coalesced around him.
Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Prevost “certainly attracted cross-party preferences, both ideologically and geographically”.
“In the conclave he was the least American of Americans: Born in Chicago, he lived 20 years in Peru,” the newspaper said.
It added: “As a man used to teamwork, Prevost appeared to many as the right man to make the papacy evolve into a more collegial form.”
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