Leicester man shares devastation after nine relatives died in Turkey earthquake

A man who lost nine members of his family in the earthquake in Turkey is urging communities in the East Midlands to help.

Sefa Dermirici, who's from Leicester, told ITV News Central Correspondent Phil Brewster: "I have some family members trapped - almost nine of them lost their lives."

"One of my cousins is still [stuck] in there, they can hear him but they can't really do anything with their bare hands so they're waiting for diggers to come and help."

His comments come after the quake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday - killing thousands of people and displacing hundreds of thousands more.

Meanwhile, a PhD student at the University of Birmingham has said her family have lost everything they own in the earthquake.

Esra Tekben, who's from Elibistan - which is right at the epicentre of one of the largest aftershocks.

Islamic Relief, which is a charity based in Birmingham, has said the scale of the disaster is "unprecedented".

Ms Tekben said: "My family's and relatives' houses collapsed, I'm really upset, my heart is with my family."

Around 11,000 are thought to have died, according to Turkey’s disaster management agency.

The earthquake, which hit near the town of Gaziantep, was closely followed by numerous aftershocks - including one quake which was almost as large as the first.

The first earthquake was registered at 7.8 and classified as "major" on the official magnitude scale.

It broke along about 100km (62 miles) of the fault line, causing serious damage to buildings near the fault.

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