Syrian refugee loses 25 relatives in earthquake after his entire family ‘fled war’

A Syrian refugee lost 25 family members in the earthquake that has devastated Turkey and Syria after his entire family “fled the war to find refuge”.

Amhad Idris, a displaced Syrian, said most of his family died in the disaster in Saraqib, Syria, and “fate caught up with us.”

Mr. Idris visited the morgue today and walked among the bodies of his loved ones.

As she clung to her dead grandson, she said: ‘You have hurt my heart. With everything that has happened. I never thought something like this could happen.

‘I lost my daughter; two of her children, I mean my grandchildren; the family of my daughter’s father-in-law; my daughter’s mother-in-law and hers children of hers, one of whom had children, a large family and several children as well.

Amhad Idris, a displaced Syrian, said 25 members of his family were killed in the disaster in Saraqib, Syria, and “fate caught up with us.”

Officials and doctors have said some 9,057 people died in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria after Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor. Pictured: Collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras

“It’s a total of about 25 people,” he said. sky news.

Idris and his family had fled their home country to seek refuge in Saraqib in 2012, which was recaptured by the Syrian army in 2020.

He said: ‘We fled from the war. Look at the injustice that persecutes us, and what happened to us.

“We came here with the idea of ​​finding a safe haven for ourselves and our children. But in the end, look how fate has caught up with us here.

Authorities and doctors have said some 9,057 people were killed in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria by Monday’s magnitude 7.8 tremor, bringing the total to 11,719, making it the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade.

The death toll is higher than the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated Nepal in 2015, which killed more than 8,800 people.

UN representative Mohamad Safa called for “sharing positivity” amid many negative stories related to the rising death toll.

Rescuers in Turkey and Syria continue to search for survivors trapped inside the ruins of their houses collapsed by the quake.

Against all odds, search teams were still pulling people out of the rubble today, more than 48 hours after the initial 7.8-magnitude quake.

The World Health Organization said many more victims are likely to be discovered in both countries.

Yesterday they suggested that casualties could reach 20,000.