A Belarusian citizen and his son were pulled from the rubble of a building that collapsed in the Hatay region after the devastating earthquake. The tragedy was confirmed by Sputnik Belarus, which cited information from the Belarusian Embassy in Ankara. The two lives lost were mourned as part of a broader catastrophe that touched many families across the area and drew international attention to the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts.
According to reports, Alexandra Akpınar and her son Ali Kemal were trapped beneath the debris on February 11, following the initial tremors. Alexandra was married to a Turkish citizen, and her husband later passed away in hospital, underscoring the personal losses suffered by families in the wake of the disaster. The embassy and local authorities continued to work with rescue teams to document survivors and coordinate aid for those affected, aiming to provide shelter, medical care, and essential supplies to those who endured harrowing days beneath the rubble.
Earlier, the region had recorded additional seismic activity after the major quakes in Hatay. Footage from the time captured a fault system exceeding 200 meters in width, illustrating the scale and surface impact of the tremors. The sequence of events left communities in shock and prompted swift emergency responses as residents assessed damages, searched for missing relatives, and began to rebuild where possible.
On February 6, Turkey experienced a powerful pair of earthquakes, with one measuring 7.7 and another 7.6 on the moment magnitude scale. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the event as the strongest to strike the country since 1939, a comparison that underscored the unprecedented severity of the disaster. The aftershocks extended beyond Turkey’s borders, with tremors felt in Syria, Iran, and several neighboring regions, creating a cascade of humanitarian needs and complicating rescue and relief operations for days to come.
As the situation evolved, official tallies indicated a devastating human toll. The latest data reported that tens of thousands of people had died in the disaster, with many more left injured or displaced. The scale of the emergency prompted international aid, extensive search-and-rescue missions, and long-term planning for shelter, healthcare, and reconstruction across affected provinces. Community leaders, volunteers, and humanitarian organizations worked tirelessly to coordinate food, water, medical supplies, and temporary housing for survivors while authorities assessed infrastructure and began laying groundwork for a longer recovery process. The ongoing efforts highlighted the resilience of communities facing an extraordinary crisis and the global response that followed, with nations offering support and expertise to help those affected begin to rebuild their lives.