hankyoreh

A rescue worker looks through the rubble for survivors in Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, in the wake of a 7.8 magnitude quake that rocked the central area of the country. (Xinhua/Yonhap)

“The rescue team was too late."

Türkiye’s Istanbul Airport was calmer than expected after being hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake two days prior. The Turkish Airlines flight that a group of Hankyoreh reporters boarded departed at 12:45 am on Wednesday and landed in Istanbul at 6:40 am local time.

Foreign media had reported that rescue operations were being delayed due to bad weather. Indeed, it was difficult to make out what exactly was falling from the dim sky above Istanbul, whether it was rain or a combination of snow and rain.

Sadness was brewing beneath the silence that filled the airport at dawn. Gulsum, 28, whom the Hankyoreh met at the airport, was holding a 7-month-old baby and waiting for her family living in Istanbul to pick her up. She had a big purple suitcase in her cart and held her child, who was wrapped with a blanket and wearing a hat.

Gulsum said she was from Adiyaman, which is about 100 kilometers northeast of the southern city of Gaziantep, the epicenter of the earthquake. “Half of the city is still covered in rubble. Rescuers came too late to save the people,” she said. When asked how the quake had affected her personally, she simply shook her head without saying a word.

A man who was waiting nearby for his grandfather said, “She probably doesn’t want to talk about it.”

A white ribbon of mourning for victims of the earthquake and aftershock is displayed on a screen in Istanbul Airport on Feb. 8 (Baek So-ah/The Hankyoreh)

As of Wednesday evening (Türkiye time), the total death toll as a result of the earthquake that struck southern Türkiye and northern Syria exceeded 9,500, according to reports by foreign media, including the Associated Press. The Turkish government said the death toll had risen to 7,018 and the number of injured to 40,910.

Meanwhile, the Syrian government reported 1,250 people dead and 2,054 injured in government-controlled areas while aid organizations in the area said the death toll rose to 1,280 and 2,600 injured in rebel-held northwestern areas.

The figures more than doubled compared to midnight the previous day, when 3,400 deaths had been tallied. Although desperate rescue operations are underway, there are fears that the death toll will rise further since many areas remain untouched by rescue efforts.

The Turkish government said the earthquake-stricken area covers 450 kilometers from Diyarbakir to Adana from east to west and 300 kilometers from Malatya to Hatay from north to south. A total of 13.5 million people call these areas home.

According to Reuters, the earthquake also damaged areas in Syria located 250 km away from the epicenter in southeastern Türkiye.

The World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to provide aid, saying there are 23 million people living in the earthquake-stricken areas in the two countries.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that speedy rescue efforts are important, saying, “It’s now a race against time. Every minute, every hour that passes, the chances of finding survivors alive diminishes.”

Signs of the disaster that struck the country could be seen at the airport too, where white ribbons were placed on the way to the departure hall. A large mourning ribbon was also hung at the entrance of the duty-free shop with the words “Earthquake Hits Turkey” written in English.

Next to the ribbon was the red Turkish flag followed by the words “national mourning” written in Turkish and “May God’s mercy will be with the citizens who lost their lives in the earthquake and that the injured will recover quickly.”

There was also a QR code that directed those who scan it to donate a small amount (20 Turkish lira, about 1,300 won or US$1) to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) of Türkiye.

That day at Istanbul Airport, domestic flights coming from earthquake-hit areas were facing delays of up to seven hours. Like Gulsum, those who arrived at the airport were all wrapped in big blankets. Some also had plastic bags with snacks. There were also many people who, as soon as they saw a loved one, hugged them tightly.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Türkiye meets with earthquake survivors in Kahramanmaras on Feb. 8. While speaking to reporters on the ground, the president acknowledged shortcomings in the response but said, “It is not possible to be prepared for such a disaster.” (AP/Yonhap)

Foreign media are reporting how, even after three days since the earthquake, many people have still not received any help. Murat Alinak, a resident of Malatya who was affected by the earthquake, lamented the slow rescue efforts. “There is not even a single person here. We are under the snow, without a home, without anything. What shall I do, where can I go?”

Another resident echoed similar concerns, saying that rescue teams have yet to arrive, and people are searching through the ruins with their bare hands. “Where is the state? Where have they been for two days?” the resident asked.

In Antakya, the capital of Hatay Province, residents have started looking for survivors in the ruins themselves. The situation in Syria, however, is reportedly even more dire.

A video posted by CNN on Tuesday shows two young children trapped underneath rubble in a village near Haram, a rebel-held city. The girl pleaded with rescuers to help, saying “Get me out of here, I’ll do anything for you. I'll be your servant.”

On Tuesday, Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a state of emergency for three months after designating 10 provinces hit by the quake as disaster-stricken areas. The government also announced plans to send more than 50,000 relief workers to the affected areas and invest 5.3 billion dollars (approximately 6.7 trillion won) in recovery efforts.

“The only comfort is that we have rescued more than 8,000 people so far,” Erdogan said, adding that hotels in Antalya, the country's western tourist hub, will be used as temporary accommodation facilities for victims.

More than 70 countries around the world have also started sending rescue teams or providing aid supplies.

“The [affected] area is enormous. I haven't seen anything like this before,” Johannes Gust, a rescue worker from Germany told Reuters when he arrived at Adana Airport that day.

By Cho Hae-yeong, staff reporter

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