Abdulalim Muaini makes a feeble gesture toward his rescuers as he emerges from beneath a massive slab of brick and concrete. It has been more than two days since a large earthquake in Turkey’s Hatay region caused his home to collapse on top of him.
His wife Esra is right alongside him. For her, the help arrived too late.
On the second day of his assignment, Reuters photographer Umit Bektas was in Hatay, one of the regions most severely affected by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 11,500 people throughout southern Turkey and northern Syria.
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Abdulalim was standing close, but Umit was unable to talk to him directly. However, two of his buddies were present. According to them, Abdulalim was born in Homs, Syria. He married Turkish woman Esra after escaping the civil war. They claimed that the couple had two kids named Mahsen and Besira. What had happened to the girls was unknown.
Rescue operations might take a while, so Umit returned a few hours later and eventually saw Abdulalim being extricated from the rubble. He required medical care since one eye was inflamed, he was dehydrated, and he was covered in grey dust. Even so, he lived.
His relatives didn’t. Esra, Mahsen, and Besira’s bodies were on the ground, each covered in a blanket.
The Wider Image
Photography and reporting: Umit Bektas
Writing: Rosalba O’Brien
Photo editing: Kezia Levitas
Text editing: Daniel Wallis
Design: Marta Montana Gomez
