The devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023, has left a trail of destruction and immeasurable grief. Amidst the rubble and ongoing rescue efforts, a single photograph has emerged, capturing the raw pain of a father who lost his daughter in the disaster.
The image, taken by AFP photographer Adem Altan, shows Mesut Hancer, dressed in a bright orange coat, sitting atop a pile of debris in Kahramanmaras, near the quake’s epicenter. His hand gently grasps the lifeless hand of his 15-year-old daughter, Irmak, protruding from under a massive chunk of concrete that had toppled onto her bed, crushing her to death.
The photo, published by The Independent and People Magazine has gone viral serving as a poignant reminder of the human cost of the earthquake. It depicts a father’s unimaginable anguish, his silent sorrow speaking volumes about the tragedy that has unfolded.
Irmak’s pale fingers, visible through the slabs of concrete and broken bricks, symbolize the fragility of life and the suddenness with which it can be snatched away. The image also highlights the immense task ahead for rescue workers and the affected communities as they grapple with the aftermath of the disaster.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8 has claimed the lives of over 11,000 people in Turkey and Syria. Rescue efforts continue but time is running out for those still trapped under the rubble. The image of Mesut Hancer holding his daughter’s hand serves as a stark reminder of the urgency and the need for continued support for the victims.
This photograph is not just a news image; it is a testament to the enduring power of human emotions. It captures the depth of a father’s love and the unbearable pain of loss. It is a reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of cherishing our loved ones.
As the world witnesses the devastation caused by the earthquake, the image of Mesut Hancer and his daughter serves as a call to action. It urges us to extend our support to those affected and to remember the human stories behind the statistics. It is a reminder that even in the darkest of times, hope and compassion can prevail.
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Warning: distressing content
Jinderis, Turkey: The tragedy that is occurring in Turkey and Syria following the deadly earthquakes is highlighted by this heartbreaking image of a father holding the hand of his deceased daughter who is trapped beneath a slab of concrete.
the, which was taken in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, coincides with the transition of many of the affected areas’ rescue operations into recovery operations.
Merely grasping the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who perished in the Kahramanmaras earthquake near the epicentre, is Mesut Hancer. Credit: AFP.
Mesut Hancer is seen in the photo sitting on a pile of rubble, wearing a high-vis coat, and holding his dead daughter Irmak’s hand, which protrudes from beneath a chunk of concrete that fell onto her bed and crushed her to death.
In other news, relatives and a physician reported on Tuesday that people searching through a collapsed building in a town in northwest Syria found a crying baby whose mother appears to have given birth to her while buried beneath the debris from this week’s devastating earthquake.
They said that the newborn girl’s mother, Afraa Abu Hadiya, had passed away, but her umbilical cord remained attached to her. According to relative Ramadan Sleiman, the infant was the only member of her family to survive the building collapse in the little town of Jinderis, which is close to the Turkish border.
Monday’s pre-dawn 7. 8 magnitude earthquake, followed by several aftershocks, caused widespread destruction across southern Turkey and northern Syria. Thousands have been killed, with the toll mounting as more bodies are discovered.
But dramatic rescues have also occurred.Advertisement
The newborn baby was rescued on Monday afternoon, more than 10 hours after the quake struck.
A female neighbor cut the cord after rescuers had dug her out, and she and the other people hurried to a children’s hospital in the nearby town of Afrin with the baby. Dr Hani Maarouf said the newborn has been kept in an incubator.
Social media users have shared a video of the rescue, which shows the instant the baby was taken out of the wreckage. It shows a man picking her up with her umbilical cord still hanging, and then running off as another man throws him a blanket to wrap her in.
The infant had bruises, including a big one on her back, and her body temperature had dropped to 35 degrees, but Maarouf said that her condition was stable.
Abu Hadiya must have been conscious during the birth and must have died soon after, he said. He estimated the baby was born several hours before being found, given how much her temperature had dropped.
An infant girl born beneath the debris in Afrin, Aleppo province, Syria, is receiving medical attention in an incubator. Credit: AP.
“Had the girl been left for an hour more, she would have died,” Maarouf said.
Abu Hadiya, her husband, and their four children reportedly attempted to flee their apartment building as soon as the Monday morning earthquake struck, but the building collapsed on them. Sleiman, who arrived at the scene shortly after the newborn was discovered, stated that their bodies were discovered close to the building’s entrance.
“She was found in front of her mother’s legs,” he said. “After the dust and rocks were removed, the girl was found alive. ”.
Maarouf said the baby weighed 3. 175 kilograms, an average weight for a newborn, and so was carried nearly to term. He stated that she has been moving her arms and legs normally and that the only reason for concern was the bruise on her back. “We have to see whether there is any problem with her spinal cord,” he said.
Elsewhere in Jinderis, a young girl was found alive, buried in concrete under the wreckage of her home.
Jinderis, which is in the rebel-held region of northwest Syria, was severely damaged in the earthquake, with numerous buildings collapsing.
Millions of Syrians fled to the rebel-held territory from other parts of the country, including Abu Hadiya and her family. According to a relative who went by the name Saleh al-Badran, they were originally from the village of Khsham in the eastern Deir el-Zour province, but they left in 2014 after the Islamic State group took control of their village.
The family relocated to Jinderis in 2018 when the town was taken from US-backed Kurdish-led fighters by the Syrian National Army, which is supported by Turkey and serves as a platform for multiple rebel factions, according to Sleiman.
Tuesday saw the burial of Abu Hadiya, the girl’s father Abdullah Turki Mleihan, and their four other children in a cemetery outside of Jinderis.
Back inside the town, rescuers were still hoping to find survivors in their building.
A toddler was rescued alive from the debris of a collapsed building in the town on Monday night, marking another spectacular rescue. A rescuer can be seen in a video from the White Helmets, the local civil defense organization, sifting through crushed concrete and twisted metal until the young girl Nour appears. The girl, still half buried, looks up dazedly as they tell her, “Dad is here, don’t be scared. … Talk to your dad, talk. ”.
Before she was pulled out, a rescuer gently wiped the dust from around her eyes and held her head in his hands.
The Syrian province of Idlib, which has been battered by conflict since 2011 and is under strain from the influx of displaced people, is at the center of the opposition-held zone where the earthquake has caused fresh destruction.
Numerous people were killed in the area by Monday’s earthquake, and the death toll kept rising. It is thought that hundreds of people are still missing beneath the debris. The White Helmets reported that the earthquake destroyed thousands of buildings in the area and completely or partially toppled over 730 buildings.
The team has years of experience extracting victims from buildings that have been destroyed by Russian or Syrian government bombardment. An earthquake is a new disaster for them.
Munir Mustafa, the deputy head of the White Helmets, stated, “They are both catastrophes—a catastrophe that has been ongoing for 12 years and the criminal has not been held accountable, and this one is a natural catastrophe.”
When asked if rescue efforts during the earthquake and the war differed, he responded, “We cannot compare death with death… What we are witnessing today is death on top of death.” ”.
AP with staff reporters
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Father holds hand of daughter as she lies dead in Turkish earthquake rubble | 1News
FAQ
Who is the Turkish man holding dead daughter?
Who was the father holding daughters hand in earthquake?
Who was the man with the daughter in the earthquake in Turkey?
Was baby removed from rubble in Turkey?
Did a father leave a dead daughter’s hand?
All that peeks out is a lifeless, pale hand that her father steadfastly grips. “He never left the hand of his daughter who died in the earthquake,” wrote Adem Atlan, the photographer with Agence France-Presse who took the pictures of the grieving father on Tuesday, in an Instagram story uploaded Wednesday. “Unbelievable pain,” he later wrote.
Did Adem Altan leave his daughter’s hand if he died?
“He never left the hand of his daughter who died in the earthquake,” wrote Adem Atlan, the photographer with Agence France-Presse who took the pictures of the grieving father on Tuesday, in an Instagram story uploaded Wednesday. “Unbelievable pain,” he later wrote. Adem Altan / AFP via Getty Images
What happened to Mesut Hancer’s 15-year-old daughter?
Bitter winter weather hampered rescue efforts and the delivery of aid, and made the plight of the homeless even more miserable. Mesut Hancer’s 15-year-old daughter, Irmak, was sleeping in her bed at her home in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, when a powerful earthquake knocked down the building, crushing the teen to death.
What happened to Hancer’s daughter?
Hancer is grieving not only for his daughter. The earthquake struck when members of his family had traveled across Turkey to his mother’s house, where his daughter was staying. “My mother, my two older brothers, my sister-in-law and her little daughter. There were seven people including my daughter. They were all under the rubble,” Hancer said.