Syrian family in Belfast lose 20 family members in earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

A Syrian family who have lost 20 loved ones in this week's devastating earthquake say the grief they are experiencing is more painful than war.

Muhamed Salaho's family fled Syria in 2015 and travelled to Turkey, before coming to Northern Ireland.

He has described their frantic efforts over the last few days to locate relatives, including speaking to an aunt as she lay trapped.

"She was under the rubble as she was talking to my dad and they managed to get her out... but the building exploded when we were on the phone to her,” he said.

Mohamed's mother Amal has lost most of her family, including her parents, siblings, nieces and nephews.

The family fled the war as refugees and are now living in Belfast. They say the pain they're experiencing is even more devastating than war.

"We've seen devastating things, when we left we had to walk across dead bodies and across borders, 7 days straight walking to get to a safe area."

In the last 24 hours people in NI have raised half a million pounds towards the Disasters' Emergency Appeal.

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