Woman describes trauma after 72 members of her family killed in Turkey-Syria earthquake
“I will never be able to forget what happened – I can still feel the earth shaking,” says Rana Bitar, her voice catching in her throat.
The charity boss says she lost 72 members of her extended family in the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria last year.
“I felt terror, fear and worry,” she tells Sky News, appearing close to tears as she recalls the moment the 7.8-magnitude quake hit the region, killing tens of thousands of people.
“At first, I did not know what was happening. I thought it was a war, that we were being bombed. I heard the sounds of explosions.”
At the time, Ms Bitar was alone at home with her two-and-a-half-year-old son in Gaziantep in Turkey, close to the epicentre.
As her flat shook, she picked up the toddler and rushed down seven flights of stairs and out into the “extremely cold weather” and snow. They were dressed in pyjamas and Ms Bitar was walking barefoot.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
February 2023: Drone footage shows devastation in Antakya
“It was horrible,” she says. “I was only thinking about my child, my parents, my family members.
“I recalled my whole life. I called my mother in Belgium and told her: ‘If something happens to me, I just wanted to say goodbye.'”
Ms Bitar, her husband and their son spent the next eight days living in their car and a nearby mosque.
At first, they did not know what had happened or how much death and destruction the earthquake had caused.
After learning the extent of the disaster on the news and discovering she had lost family, friends and colleagues, Ms Bitar says she had a nervous breakdown.
The 72 members of her extended family who died were related to her from her father’s side, she says. They had fled together from Latakia in Syria to Hatay in Turkey, which was the hardest-hit province.
Homes were destroyed in Antakya in Turkey’s Hatay province. Pic: AP
Whole families were wiped out, including Ms Bitar’s uncle and aunt and their children and grandchildren, she says. The youngest relative to die was five, while the oldest was 79.
“Losing so many loved ones and relatives was very sad and painful. I cried a lot,” she says. “I cannot explain the fear I have felt since the day of the earthquake.
“A few days ago I was having lunch with my husband and he started shaking his leg – I was terrified and asked him whether another earthquake was happening.”
Hidden health problems
More than a year since the earthquake struck on 6 February 2023, many survivors are struggling with the trauma of losing loved ones and suffering from hidden health problems.
The earthquake killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and some 5,900 people in Syria, while leaving millions homeless.
Hatay in Turkey was the hardest-hit province. Pic: AP
As well as physical injuries sustained in the disaster, survivors have suffered psychological problems, including insomnia and eating disorders, according to Madara Hettiarachchi, director of programmes at the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).
She says there was a noticeable increase in psychological issues as the anniversary approached, telling Sky News: “The aftershocks don’t help and being cloistered in container camps is a double whammy.”
Many survivors found themselves breaking down into tears, Ms Hettiarachchi says, adding: “There was a lot of crying, a lot of feeling fragile.
“Some people thought they had moved on. One woman said, ‘I thought I was strong, I thought I was coping okay, but I feel really emotional and like it’s going backwards’.”
‘Easy for diseases to spread’
More than three million people were displaced by the earthquake, which flattened towns and caused widespread destruction in cities, leaving many who lost their homes living in temporary accommodation while struggling to find new places to live.
The DEC says some 787,000 people are still living in shelters, flimsy tents and so-called container cities in Turkey, as of December last year, where they are at greater risk of respiratory illnesses and seasonal flu, as well as scabies, lice and cholera.
A child in Antakya in Hatay, Turkey, in January. Pic: AP
Many displaced people live in containers. Pic: Reuters
“They’re small crowded spaces with very limited water and sanitation, so it’s easy for diseases to spread,” warns Ms Hettiarachchi. She says aid agencies have been focused on promoting hygiene and offering disaster relief such as hygiene kits, which include bathing soap, laundry soap, toothbrushes and sanitary pads.
Some 15 million people in Syria were already in need of humanitarian assistance before the disaster struck, with damage to pipes and water tanks increasing the risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
Several relief workers say there has been an increase in miscarriages and early births after the earthquake, while some mothers had trouble breastfeeding.
A tent camp in the rebel-held Syrian town of Jandaris. Pic: Reuters
“Earthquakes and other disasters have a profound impact on the stress levels not only within communities but particularly among pregnant women,” Ozlem Kudret Cokmez, a sexual and reproductive health counsellor at Doctors Of The World Turkey, tells Sky News.
“Pregnancy and childbirth, already stress-inducing on their own, become even more challenging when coupled with factors like the degree of exposure to earthquakes, the loss of relatives, family breakdown, or relocation to new environments.”
Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts
Rise in gender-based violence
Ms Cokmez says there have been increases in gender-based violence, including domestic abuse and sexual assault, as well as early marriages and child labour, amid unemployment, limited access to basic needs, mental health issues and trauma.
In response to such risks, charities like Space Of Peace – the organisation led by Ms Bitar – have been offering safe spaces and psychological and social support to women, as well as offering workshops for them to learn English and other skills to help them find jobs amid the worsening economic situation.
Read more:
Ex-Premier League footballer found dead under rubble
Anger over building standards in wake of deadly earthquake
Syrian refugees – having fled nearly 13 years of civil war to Turkey – saw the earthquake heap further misery upon their plight. “These people lost their homes many times,” Ms Bitar says. “First when they went from Syria to Turkey, then again after the earthquake. They are struggling on so many levels.”
As well as the psychological damage of the disaster, around 70% of the 118,000 people injured in the earthquake have long-term rehabilitation issues, according to the World Health Organisation. In response, charities have been providing physical therapy, wheelchairs and crutches.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to provide 200,000 homes across the area affected by the earthquake by the end of the year.
Ms Hettiarachchi believes there is some cause for optimism, saying: “Hearing stories both from aid workers as well as people who have benefited from humanitarian assistance, there is some sort of relief, there is progress.”
But she adds: “It’s worth remembering the scale of it. Any response, either by the government or by humanitarian agencies, pales by comparison. It just feels like we’re scratching the surface.”
World
‘At least 59 killed’ in Gaza after Israeli military opens fire near aid centre and carries out strikes
At least 59 Palestinians have reportedly been killed after the Israeli military opened fire near an aid centre in Gaza and carried out strikes across the territory.
The Red Cross, which operates a field hospital in Rafah, said 25 people were “declared dead upon arrival” and “six more died after admittance” following gunfire near an aid distribution centre in the southern Gazan city.
The humanitarian organisation added that it also received 132 patients “suffering from weapon-related injuries” after the incident.
The Red Cross said: “The overwhelming majority of these patients sustained gunshot wounds, and all responsive individuals reported they were attempting to access food distribution sites.”
The organisation said the number of deaths marks the hospital’s “largest influx of fatalities” since it began operations in May last year.
The IDF has said it fired “warning shots” near the aid distribution site but it was “not aware of injured individuals” as a result.
It said in a statement: “Earlier today, several suspects were identified approaching IDF troops operating in the Rafah area, posing a threat to the troops, hundreds of metres from the aid distribution site.
“IDF troops operated in order to prevent the suspects from approaching them and fired warning shots.”
Palestinians mourn a loved one following the incident near the aid centre. Pic: Reuters
Mother’s despair over shooting
Somia Alshaar told Sky News her 17-year-old son Nasir was shot dead while visiting the aid centre after she told him not to go.
She said: “He went to get us tahini so we could eat.
“He went to get flour. He told me ‘mama, we don’t have tahini. Today I’ll bring you flour. Even if it kills me, I will get you flour’.
“He left the house and didn’t return. They told me at the hospital: your son…’Oh God, oh Lord’.”
Asked where her son was shot, she replied: “In the chest. Yes, in the chest.”
Somia Alshaar, pictured with her daughter, says her son was shot dead. Pic: Reuters
‘A policy of mass murder’
Hassan Omran, a paramedic with Gaza’s ministry of health, told Sky News after the incident that humanitarian aid centres in Gaza are now “centres of mass death”.
Speaking in Khan Younis, he said: “Today, there were more than 150 injuries and more than 20 martyrs at the aid distribution centres… the Israeli occupation deliberately kills and commits genocide. The Israeli occupation is carrying out a policy of mass murder.
“They call people to come get their daily food, and then, when citizens arrive at these centres, they are killed in cold blood.
“All the victims have gunshot wounds to the head and chest, meaning the enemy is committing these crimes deliberately.”
Israel has rejected genocide accusations and denies targeting civilians.
Two boys mourn their brother at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Pic: Reuters
‘Lies being peddled’
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial US and Israeli-backed group which operates the distribution centre near Rafah, said: “Hamas is claiming there was violence at our aid distribution sites today. False.
“Once again, there were no incidents at or in the immediate vicinity of our sites.
“But that’s not stopping some from spreading the lies being peddled by ‘officials’ at the Hamas-controlled Nasser Hospital.”
The Red Cross said its field hospital in Rafah has recorded more than 250 fatalities and treated more than 3,400 “weapon-wounded patients” since new food distribution sites were set up in Gaza on 27 May.
Read more:
‘At least 798 killed’ at Gaza aid points
’10 children killed’ waiting for Gaza health clinic to open
Israel says permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’
Palestinians inspect the wreckage after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah. Pic: AP
It comes after four children and two women were among at least 13 people who died in Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli strikes pounded the area starting late on Friday, officials in Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the territory said.
Fifteen others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not responded to a request for comment on the reported deaths.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Israeli has been carrying out attacks in Gaza since Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages on 7 October 2023.
Hamas still holds 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
US President Donald Trump has said he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war.
But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were no signs of a breakthrough.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The latest fatalities in Gaza comes as a 20-year-old Palestinian-American man was beaten to death by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian Health ministry said.
Sayafollah Musallet, also known as Saif, was killed during a confrontation between Palestinians and settlers in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, the ministry said.
A second man, Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23, died after being shot in the chest.
Mr Musallet’s family, from Tampa Florida, has called on the US State Department to lead an “immediate investigation”.
A State Department spokesperson said it was aware of the incident but it had no further comment “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim.
The Israeli military said the confrontation broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them.
As investigators continue to piece together the full picture, early findings of the Air India crash are pointing towards a critical area of concern — the aircraft’s fuel control switches.
The flight, bound for London Gatwick, crashed just moments after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on 12 June, killing all but one of the 242 people on board the plane and at least 19 on the ground.
According to the preliminary report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the two engine fuel control switches on the plane were moved from the “RUN” to “CUTOFF” position.
These switches control fuel flow to the engines and should only be used when the aircraft is on ground, first to start the engines before a flight and later to shut them down at the gate.
They are designed so they’re unlikely to be changed accidentally, pointing to possible human error on the Air India flight.
The findings include the final conversation between the pilots and show there was confusion in the cockpit as well.
When one pilot asked the other why he cut off the fuel, he responded to say he did not do so.
The Air India plane before the crash. Pic: Takagi
Moments later, a Mayday call was made from the cockpit, but the plane could not regain power quickly enough and plummeted to the ground.
Captain Amit Singh, founder of Safety Matters Foundation, an organisation dedicated to aviation safety, told Sky News: “This exchange indicates that the engine shutdowns were uncommanded.
“However, the report does not identify the cause – whether it was crew error, mechanical malfunction, or electronic failure.”
Previous warning of ‘possible fuel switch issue’
“The Boeing 787 uses spring-loaded locking mechanisms on its fuel control switches to prevent accidental movement,” Mr Singh explained.
But a previous bulletin from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “warned that these switches might be installed with the locking feature disengaged,” he said.
This could “make them susceptible to unintended movement due to vibration, contact, or quadrant flex”, he added.
The plane’s tail lodged in a building. Pic: Reuters
Speaking to Sky News, aviation expert Terry Tozner said: “The take-off was normal, the aircraft rotated at the correct speed left the ground and almost immediately, the cut-off switches were selected to off, one then two.
“But nobody has said with any clarity whether or not the latch mechanisms worked okay on this particular aircraft. So we can only assume that they were in normal working order.”
In India, there has been a backlash over the findings, with some saying the report points to pilot error without much information and almost dismisses the possibility of a mechanical or electric failure.
Indian government responds
India’s civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu has been quick to respond, saying: “We care for the welfare and the wellbeing of pilots so let’s not jump to any conclusions at this stage, let us wait for the final report.
“I believe we have the most wonderful workforce of pilots and crew in the whole world.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
India plane crash survivor carries brother’s coffin
Both pilots were experienced, with around 19,000 flying hours between them, including more than 9,000 on Boeing 787s.
The report says the aircraft maintenance checks were on schedule and that there are no signs of fuel contamination or a bird strike.
So far, no safety recommendations have been issued to Boeing or General Electric, the engine manufacturers.
Concern over destroyed flight recorder
Mr Singh said “the survivability of the flight recorders also raises concern”.
The plane’s rear flight recorder, designed to withstand impact forces of 3,400 Gs and temperatures of 1,100C for 60 minutes, “was damaged beyond recovery”.
Read more:
Everything you need to know about the crash
Air India’s lone survivor is nothing short of miracle
“The Ram Air Turbine (RAT), which deploys automatically when both engines fail and power drops below a threshold, was observed as deployed in CCTV footage when the aircraft was approximately 60ft above ground level,” Mr Singh said.
“This suggests that the dual engine failure likely occurred before the official timestamp of 08:08:42 UTC, implying a possible discrepancy.”
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the crash site. Pic: X/AP
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Mr Singh said it was also “of particular note” that the plane’s emergency locator transmitter (ELT) did not send any signal after the crash.
“Was the ELT damaged, unarmed, mis-wired, or malfunctioning?” he said.
The report has generated more questions than answers on topics including human error, power source failures and mechanical or electrical malfunction.
The final report is expected to take a year. Meanwhile, families grapple with the unimaginable loss of loved ones in one of the worst disasters in India’s aviation history.
Donald Trump has announced he will impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from 1 August.
The tariffs could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the US.
Mr Trump has also imposed a 30% tariff on goods from Mexico, according to a post from his Truth Social account.
Announcing the moves in separate letters on the account, the president said the US trade deficit was a national security threat.
In his letter to the EU, he wrote: “We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, trade Deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-Tariff, policies, and trade barriers.
“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal.”
In his letter to Mexico, Mr Trump said he did not think the country had done enough to stop the US from turning into a “narco-trafficking playground”.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said today that the EU could adopt “proportionate countermeasures” if the US proceeds with imposing the 30% tariff.
Ms von der Leyen, who heads the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement that the bloc remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by Aug 1”.
“Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” she continued.
“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”
Ms von der Leyen has also said imposing tariffs on EU exports would “disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains”.
Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on the X social media platform that Mr Trump’s announcement was “very concerning and not the way forward”.
He added: “The European Commission can count on our full support. As the EU we must remain united and resolute in pursuing an outcome with the United States that is mutually beneficial.”
Mexico’s economy ministry said a bilateral working group aims to reach an alternative to the 30% US tariffs before they are due to take effect.
The country was informed by the US that it would receive a letter about the tariffs, the ministry’s statement said, adding that Mexico was negotiating.
Read more US news:
Trump plans to hit Canada with 35% tariff
More than 160 missing after Texas floods
Robot performs realistic surgery
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
How ‘liberation day’ unfolded
Trump’s tariff threats and delays
On his so-called “liberation day” in April, Mr Trump unleashed “reciprocal tariffs” on many of America’s trade partners.
The US president said he was targeting countries with which America has a trade imbalance.
However, since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
The US imposed a 20% tariff on imported goods from the EU in April but it was later paused and the bloc has since been paying a baseline tariff of 10% on goods it exports to the US.
In May, while the US and EU where holding trade negotiations, Mr Trump threated to impose a 50% tariff on the bloc as talks didn’t progress as he would have liked.
However, he later announced he was delaying the imposition of that tariff while negotiations over a trade deal took place.
As of earlier this week, the EU’s executive commission, which handles trade issues for the bloc’s 27-member nations, said its leaders were still hoping to strike a trade deal with the Trump administration.
Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike