Hatay, scene of the tragedy in Turkey: this is how earthquakes collapsed an entire city

Ruins and despair flood Hatay, one of the Turkish regions most affected by the great earthquakes and their successive aftershocks that have hit the country and part of Syria. Located in the south of the country, on the Mediterranean coast, in recent hours it has become in the most representative image of the devastation that crosses both countries. There, few are the buildings that have remained standing, and even less those that have not collapsed afterwards, leaving a terrifying trail of rubble among which hundreds of people have been buried.

Albert Naya, correspondent for laSexta in Turkey, told Al Rojo Vivo how the situation is right now: “Here there are more than 800 dead, and the panorama is bleak. The main street is littered with the rubble of collapsed buildings, and it is striking to see that many of these buildings lack humanitarian aid for the affected people.

People still waiting to be rescued in a race against time for one’s life. In the last few hours, Turkish emergency teams have managed to save a mother and her six-month-old baby after spending nearly 29 hours trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building in this province. The rescue took place after four people – a mother and her three children – were found alive in the rubble of a building.

On social networks we also find a multitude of images and videos that attest to the absolute destruction that the province of Hatay is experiencing.

The rescuers hope, as has happened in these two cases, to arrive in time to save the rest of the people; at least, to all that are possible. However, the conditions for doing so are anything but optimal. In addition to the extensive damage caused by the earthquakes – in addition to the collapse of buildings, huge cracks have been recorded on the runways of Hatay Airport and other key infrastructure – the severe weather conditions are making it difficult to bring aid to the affected regions and perform rescues.

The extreme temperatures, below zero in many parts of the province and even with snowfall, not only pose a great obstacle to the work of the emergency services, but also place the trapped victims at an even more critical point. In fact, according to official data, temperatures have dropped close to freezing overnight, which has worsened conditions for people trapped under the rubble or made homeless. Such is the situation that the authorities have indicated that, right now, only rescue and aid vehicles can enter or leave Hatay.

However, there are those who still remain there; Entire families gathered around campfires and wrapped in blankets to keep warm in the absence of a roof to protect themselves or efficient heating systems due to power cuts. “We barely made it out of the house“, said Neset Guler, huddled around the fire with her four children: “Our situation is a disaster. We are hungry, we are thirsty. It’s miserable.”

Meanwhile, a high percentage of the population that has been able to save their lives has been relocated to other provinces or transferred to field hospitals set up in the last few hours.

An action also with difficulties. “When a disaster of these characteristics occurs, the hospitals are evidently quite saturated, And what is happening now with the humanitarian aid that arrives from other countries is that it is becoming quite difficult to distribute it throughout the area. Because the main airport in the area is totally collapsed. Therefore, it is being difficult at the health level,” journalist Albert Naya continued to explain to La Sexta.

At both points, concern for those who have not suffered the same fate continues to rise. Hataysport coach Volkan Demirel He has launched a distress message on his social networks. The legendary goalkeeper could not hold back his tears: “I want you to send all the resources you have. Please, please, for God’s sake, people are dying here.” Precisely, among the many affected are dozens of Turkish athletes from disciplines such as football, volleyball, handball or wrestling who have been buried.