Two dozen children from Northern Cyprus and some of their parents were on a school trip to participate in a volleyball tournament in Turkey when the strong earthquake hit the hotel where they were staying. All that’s left of him now is the flagpole.
Located on the main street of Adiyaman, in Turkey’s devastated southeast, the hotel was completely destroyed. Dozens of other buildings on either side of the long road met the same fate.
The death toll from the earthquake that hit Turkey and parts of Syria on Monday now exceeds 17,000 and rises by the thousands every day, leaving both countries in a state of shock, grief and deep national trauma.
But the immense pain caused by the disaster is hard to understand without looking at the faces of the rescuers shouting the names of Cypriot children in the ruins of the Adiyaman hotel, hoping that, against all odds, someone will respond .
“I’ve never seen anything like it, such destruction,” said Ilhami Bilgen, whose brother Hasan was on the volleyball team.
Bilgen looked at the terrifying heap of heavy stones beneath which his brother lay, but still refused to believe that Hasan was dead: ‘There’s a hole there. Kids could have crawled into it. We haven’t given up hope yet.’
The 24 students, aged between 11 and 14, were staying at the hotel along with 10 parents, four teachers and a coach, officials told AFP.
Nazim Cavusoglu, education minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, said a teacher and three parents were rescued when the earthquake struck. The bodies of two teachers were pulled from the rubble on Wednesday.
“33 people are still in prison,” the minister told AFP. “The students were on a field trip to participate in a school volleyball tournament,” he stressed.
Athletes from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a breakaway region of the Mediterranean island only recognized by Ankara, are banned from international tournaments.
The region’s government has declared a national mobilization and chartered a private jet to help search and rescue the children. A delegation of 200 members spent the night around a campfire outside the hotel to warm up against the lingering cold.
“We’ve been here since Monday, with the families. We’re here with our volunteers. Let’s wait for this garbage to be removed, until we get our kids out of here.”said the Minister of Education.
“I saw suitcases full of gifts – Turkish delight – lying over the rubble,” said another Northern Cyprus Health Ministry official, who declined to be identified.
“We don’t expect to find any more survivors, but we can’t find the bodies either.”complained.
Under the rubble, in the parking lot, it is possible to see the remains of the tourist bus that transported the children.
The president of the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, whose relations with Northern Cyprus are extremely tense, sent a message of support.
“We reiterate our willingness to contribute and offer our assistance to the humanitarian, rescue and recovery efforts currently underway,” Anastasiades wrote on Twitter.
“Our hearts and thoughts are with the families and friends of the missing students,” the UN mission in Cyprus said.
Source: DN
