Portugal’s André Sousa, who is circumnavigating the world on a minibike to set a record, is in Turkey and fled the local 7.8 earthquake this morning, reporting “a lot of damage and panic”.
Speaking to Lusa, the 27-year-old from Oliveira de Azeméis says he arrived on Turkish territory from Iraq last week and stayed in a hotel seven kilometers from Gaziantep, the earthquake’s epicenter. awaiting relief from the weather conditions related to the snowfall of recent days to continue the journey.
This Monday, around 4:15 a.m. local time, he was awakened by “very violent tremors” and fled from the second floor.
“Because I have already experienced an earthquake in Greece, in 2020, and another one in Guatemala, last year, this time I immediately understood what was happening and did not hesitate, thinking it was a car accident or something like that This earthquake was absurdly stronger! Everything fell around me – water bottles, television controls, the plaster on the walls, with the bouncing pebbles – and I ran out into the street wearing only boxers, socks and t-shirt, even in freezing temperatures”to describe.
The exit proceeded with some difficulty, because, as “the earthquake lasted for more than a consecutive minute, the building continued to shake” and, on its way to an unobstructed space, “coverings were falling everywhere – brick, porcelain, glass, etc.”.
The motorcyclist remained in the open for about an hour, always “without clothes or shoes”, and without much support or information.
“Everyone was in a panic and since they are Muslims here you could only hear people shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ like ‘God help us’. I couldn’t find out much more because no one speaks English and everyone was very upset , in real panic,” reveals.
André Sousa kept himself warm with the help of bonfires lit outside by the locals, who used paper and some pieces of wood to do so, and returned to the hotel when the electricity, telephone and internet were restored.
However, he felt several aftershocks from the quake, but guarantees that these “are beyond compare in intensity”, and so considers himself safer in the hotel. It is now awaiting instructions to donate blood as “the authorities have already made it known that they need it” given the thousands of injured people identified in the region – and more than 1,500 have died in Turkey and Syria, also affected by the same earthquake.
“There’s no point in wanting to leave the hotel, because we’re just getting in the way,” defends André Sousa. “The streets are blocked, there is nowhere to go and the police are asking people to stay at home or in public parks so that nothing else is blocked and ambulances and emergency services can circulate.”, concludes.
André Sousa started this journey in 2020 to set the Guinness record as the first global citizen to circle the planet in a Honda Monkey 125, 75 centimeters high and with a nine horsepower engine. So far he has covered 70 countries and more than 60,000 kilometers.
Source: DN
