Tens of thousands of people lost their lives in Adiyaman (Semsûr), 80 percent of which became uninhabitable after the two earthquakes on 6 February. Some families lost dozens of relatives. The Filikî family lost 35.
Şeyhmus Filikî and his close relative, Ali Dere, talked to ANF about the disaster they experienced.
Şeyhmus Filikî said that he was in Amed at the time of the earthquake, but received information that search and rescue efforts and aid arrived late. Filikî stated that thousands of buildings were destroyed in Adiyaman (Semsûr).
According to what his relatives told him, the people acted using their own means for 3-4 days, Filikî said, and added: "Currently, we can't think of anything and we don't have a plan for what to do next. Our sadness, pain, and uncertainty are mingled with each other. We could not even mourn in our hearts because of the current process. 35 people from our family died. Gradually, we dug our bodies out of the rubble and buried them. Of course, we know that we still have people under the rubble.”
Stating that they were asleep at the time of the earthquake and that the walls collapsed on them, Ali Dere said: “We hugged each other and couldn't go out. The electricity was gone and it was raining. We pulled people out of the rubble with our own means. We did not see any search and rescue work. For two days, the people worked on the wrecks with whatever they had. We pulled two bodies out of the rubble. We saved 6-7 people. A total of 30-40 people died in that building. They took out half of the bodies, but the other half is still under the rubble.”
