Mother, who lost husband, 2 sons in Turkish earthquakes, now looking for daughter

By Lale Bildirici Buyukkarakaya

ISTANBUL (AA) - A woman who lost her husband and two sons in last week’s earthquakes in southern Türkiye, is now looking for her 21-year-old daughter.

Treatment of Cigdem Guler, 37, who was injured in the quakes that jolted the Antakya district in Hatay province, continues at a hospital in Istanbul.

Guler is grieving the loss of her husband and sons but wonders about the fate of her daughter, Nevin, who was admitted Jan. 27 to the Antakya State Hospital Psychiatry Polyclinic when the quakes hit.

No record of her daughter has been found among those who were rescued from the rubble of the hospital which collapsed, Guler told Anadolu.

She said she remained under the rubble for nearly 40 hours. "I didn't lose my consciousness while I was under the wreckage. I couldn't breathe. Thank God I was saved but I am injured. My heart hurts more. My only wish is that my daughter is found alive. Please help, she is my only hope," she said.

At least 40,642 people have been killed and over 108,000 injured by two powerful earthquakes that rocked southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, according to the latest figures.

The 7.7- and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye Elazig and Sanliurfa.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.