Tragedy in Kahramanmaras: the story of a city devastated by the earthquake

On Monday, February 6, 2023, Turkey was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed thousands.

Many of the victims were trapped under the debris of thousands of buildings. Rain and snow, which in some areas fell heavily, combined with very low nighttime temperatures, made it even harder to look for survivors and worsened the situation of those affected by the disaster.

The day after the disaster, no government-run rescue effort was in place in Kahramanmaras, a city in southern Turkey whose entire infrastructure was devastated by the quake. Residents were searching for their loved ones by themselves, sometimes digging through the rubble with their bare hands.

In one of the pictures taken by AFP photographer Adem Altan, a father, Mesut Hancer, holds the hand of his dead 15-year-old daughter Irmak, crushed under the rubble of a collapsed building. The look of pain and fear on his face is overwhelming, and the photo quickly went viral, drawing global attention to the tragedy that struck the city.

The photo taken by Adem Altan is a poignant testimony of the pain and suffering that was inflicted on the people of Kahramanmaras after the earthquake. The image was also widely shared on social media and generated a wave of support and solidarity towards the victims of the disaster.