SKAI’s expedition in Antioch: The city was flattened by the earthquake, voices under the debris – Watch video

Flattened buildings, people desperate with anguish painted in their eyes digging with their bare hands looking for their people under the rubble, no food, no, water, no power. The images it conveys the correspondent of SKAI, Manolis Kostidis from his trek to Adana, Alexandretta, Antioch they cause pain as “the city is almost dead” as he states.

According to the report, over 800 are the dead in Antioch and 60% of the city is destroyed. The center is in chaos as most of the buildings have been leveled. At the same time the absence of humanitarian aid is visible. People with their bare hands, without any help from rescue crews dig and search for their people under the debris. The devastation left behind by the 7.8 Richter on Monday is incalculable.

Voices from under the debris

“There are 30-40 people in the building. There is no fire brigade, ambulance, EMAK. There is noone. With our nails, with our hands we dig and pull them out. We can’t oil, already essential. In some buildings we hear voices. There are people alive, but because we don’t have the means, we can’t get them out,” says Manolis Kostidis, a resident of Antioch who is looking for people alive in the ruins.

According to SKAI’s correspondent, the crowds in the area are few, the scenes minimal and the police invisible. Today some trucks arrived in the city to offer help. The images of children living in cars are shocking. For the residents, life in Antioch is over after the killer earthquake, as they say.

Over 7,000 dead

A few hours before 48 hours have passed since the deadly earthquake, the death toll in Turkey and Syria has exceeded 7,000. The list of victims keeps getting longer as the hours pass and the hopes for survivors under the debris are slowly fading. Specifically, the dead now amount to at least 7,266 in both countries and the injured exceed 35,500.

The Minister of Health of Turkey, Fahrettin Koca, in a press conference he gave today Tuesday, stated that the number of dead in Turkey amounts to 5,434. At the same time, at least 31,777 people have been injured in Turkey.

In Syria, according to state media, at least 812 people died in government controlled areas. This brings the total death toll in Syria to at least 1,832. At least 3,849 people have been injured in at least 1,449 in areas controlled by the Syrian government according to Syrian state media and at least 2,400 in opposition-held northwest Syria according to the White Helmets.

At the same time, the Turkish Minister of Defense, Hulusi Akar stated on Tuesday that about 7,500 Turkish soldiers are working to assist in rescue operations. He also said 1,500 people would be added to the rescue team on Wednesday and that 75 military aircraft were stationed. A total of nine commando battalions arrived in the area from the west and four commando battalions from Cyprus will come to the area, he underlined. The vice president of Turkey Fuat Oktai, stated that over 8,000 people have been rescued and that above 20,000 rescuers are involved in the rescue operations. The mobilization to send aid to Turkey is global with rescue crews now racing against time to locate survivors under tons of rubble and under harsh weather conditions.

More than 5,000 buildings have collapsed in Turkey

According to the director general of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD), Orhan Tatar, at least 5,775 buildings collapsed. According to the Turkish Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu, 941 buildings have been completely destroyed in the city of Kahramanmaras alone.

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