The aftermath of the earthquake in the Turkish city of Malatya, February 8, 2023.
Ankara – As the hope of saving more survivors slowly fades in Turkey after Monday's earthquakes, many families are trying to at least find their dead to bury them properly. In the catastrophically destroyed city of Pazarcik, there are so many victims that the bodies are stored in the local fire station because there is no place for them elsewhere, The New York Times wrote. In the city of Antakya, on the other hand, dozens of bodies wrapped in blankets and bags lie on the ground right in front of the hospital, in the city of Kahramanmaraş, the local sports hall serves as a temporary morgue, reports the Reuters agency.
Advertisement'; }
Photo gallery: Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
In Pazarcik, families also bring the dead to the fire station to ritually wash them before burial. Funeral ceremonies would normally take place in a mosque, but they are overcrowded. Survivors have taken over 200 dead to the building of the local fire department since Monday.
Elsewhere, people are coming to look for their relatives among the dead. For example, in the province of Hatay, people are gradually opening the bags with the dead lying between the tents of the Red Crescent, hoping to find their loved ones, Reuters wrote.
This is how a married couple searched for their relatives outside a hospital in Antakya, who was advised to examine the dead one by one. “My wife doesn't speak Turkish and I have a problem with my eyesight. We have to check all the faces, we need help,” the man told Reuters.
Some bodies have name tags, but others don't. If relatives find their dead, an authorized official will issue them a death certificate as well as a burial permit – then they can take the remains away.
