WARNING: This story contains distressing details

A Vancouver woman is coping with news she’s lost at least five relatives, who died after being trapped under the rubble following a catastrophic earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Nural Sümbültepe is from from İskenderun, a Turkish city of about 1 million near the Syrian border. 

She had been waiting to hear about the well-being of extended family members missing in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in the early hours of Monday.

And on Tuesday, she received devastating news.

“My nephew, his wife and their nine-month-old baby, they were confirmed dead,” she said.

A brother-in-law and sister-in-law are also confirmed dead, still trapped.

“She was the best,” she said about her sister-in-law while fighting back tears. “If our country were full of women like her, our country would have been in better shape. I loved her.”

Sümbültepe’s eldest brother, aged 65, is still missing.

“It would be a miracle if they find [him],” she said.

In the four days since the earthquake, and powerful aftershocks, around 12,000 buildings in Turkey have either collapsed or sustained serious damage, according to Turkey’s Minister of Environment and Urban Planning, Murat Kurum.

Turkish officials have said that 13.5 million people have been affected by the earthquakes, and the number killed continues to climb over 20,000 as more bodies are pulled out of the rubble.

Still, there are glimmers of hope.

On Friday, rescuers shouted “God is great” and hugged each other after freeing a woman who was trapped for five days in the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in earthquake-ravaged Turkey.

On hand were members of the Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue Team, volunteers who flew into Turkey on Tuesday after getting the green light from the Turkish consulate in Vancouver. The team — the only Canadian one allowed into the country — brought high-tech cameras and other equipment to help find survivors.

“It’s incredible,” member Brodie McKenzie said of the rescue. “It’s such a rare event that you have someone who can survive these conditions.”

B.C.’s Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma shared news of the rescue on Twitter on Friday and said the government is “incredibly proud,” and remains in daily contact with federal authorities to provide help.

A post on the Burnaby search team’s Facebook page says it is “getting reports of trapped people messaging on their phones for help” after what it said was a long day at work.

Back in B.C., people with connections to Syria and Turkey are doing what they can to help from abroad, collecting donations and holding fundraisers.

Alper Tasdrumaz, who owns Simit Bakery, is donating a portion of his sales to organizations in Turkey helping with rescue and recovery efforts — estimating he’ll be able to share about $10,000.

“We’re trying our best,” he said.

The Canadian government has pledged $10 million in aid, and will match up to $10 million in donations through the Canadian Red Cross.

Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

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