Pain is plentiful in Antakya: Turkish city bears the scars of deadly earthquake

'At the site of every collapsed building, where the dedicated dig, you see the relatives' - John Irvine reports from Antakya, southern Turkey


Turkey's historic city of Antakya is one of a number that has been devastated by last week's 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

The city, which has a history stretching back more than 2,500 years, has been largely reduced to rubble and left without any electricity.

Here, the only lights come from the fires lit by those who no longer have a home and the torches used in the ongoing search and rescue efforts.

In this quake zone the dead of night has literal meaning.

Next to each fallen building you can find the relatives of those who are still missing. Many have now accepted that any chance of receiving good news is limited.

One man has been waiting a week to claim the body of his mother. His partner told ITV News: "She's my mum not mother in law. She's my mum."

She describes the last week as being the "worst experience" of her life, adding: "I'm a doctor. I have seen bad things, I have seen terrible things, but this is the worst."

Elsewhere, in Antakya's old city the destruction feels even more pronounced, where many of its buildings were toppled by the earthquake.


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But by virtue of being smaller than Antakya's large apartment blocks these sites have not been prioritised by search and rescue teams, who have instead focused their efforts on buildings where more people are likely to be buried.

Quite simply, in areas like this they truly have no idea just how many people are dead and buried.

Throughout the wreckage that was Antakya pain, is plentiful.

Among the cherished buildings destroyed is the Habib'i Neccar Mosque, which dates back to the 1st Century AD. It was re-built after the last major earthquake here nearly 200 years ago.

The question now is whether Antakya can rise once again. The scale of this quake must raise serious doubts as to whether that's even possible.

Known in the bible as Antioch, this city may now be nothing more than ancient history.