Winnipeg family mourning loss of relatives from Turkiye earthquake
A Winnipeg family is in mourning after two relatives were killed by an earthquake that caused destruction across southeast Turkiye and neighbouring Syria.
Allan Emre said his wife’s niece and her baby were killed in the Turkish city of Adiyaman. Their bodies were found in the rubble following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday morning.
“So far in our family, we have two deaths, and we still haven’t communicated with the entire family yet. It’s devastating,” Allan said in an interview on Monday.
He added his mother-in-law was trapped in her unit for eight hours, but was eventually rescued.
Allan said his mother-in-law is currently doing all right; however, she’s without shelter in the cold.
“Thank goodness she’s safe now,” he said.
Allan added he still has many family members he hasn’t heard from, and doesn’t know whether they’re alive.
“Even though they’re in the district, because of the chaos, communication has been very low,” he said.
Nametullah Emre, Allan’s brother, said it’s hard seeing what’s going on Turkiye, while being in Manitoba, because you want to be able to help.
“You look at the news, you look at everything. People are suffering there, everybody’s begging for help, but basically, there’s no help there,” he said.
Allan said they are working to bring awareness to the situation, and have started a fundraiser through GoFundMe.
“I think this might be the most safest, easiest and quickest way to help them out,” he said.
“The transportation right now is a huge problem. The airports are affected, the bridges are affected, the hospitals are affected, so it’s difficult.”
The death toll from the earthquake has passed 5,300 and is expected to rise.
- With files from CTV's Renee Rodgers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Donald Trump indicted; 1st ex-president charged with crime
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.

BREAKING | Ottawa gives final approval for Rogers $26B purchase of Shaw
Rogers Communications Inc's $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. cleared the last regulatory hurdle Friday, more than two years after the deal was first announced.
Police find 6 bodies, including 1 child, in St. Lawrence River
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
House abandoned by couple who 'disappeared' years ago nightmare for neighbour on upscale street
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
'Nova Scotians' sense of safety was rocked': RCMP failures dominate inquiry's final report into 2020 mass shooting
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.
Lack of data on transit violence amounts to 'blanket of ignorance': Researcher
Canada needs standardized data on violence on transit systems to help tackle issues ranging from a lack of mental health supports to eroding public trust, say researchers, citing the recent stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy at a Toronto station as the latest example of random attacks on commuters.
Gwyneth Paltrow not at fault for ski collision, jury decides
Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn't at fault for the crash.
Trump's indictment in New York: Here's what to know
The vote of a Manhattan grand jury to indict the Republican former president on charges related to hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign catapults the now-candidate Donald Trump into a new era of legal risk and complicates his attempts to return to the White House.
Meet the Canadian astronauts up for a seat on the Artemis II mission to the moon
This Sunday, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will announce the four astronauts that will be blasting off to fly around the moon for the Artemis II mission, one of whom will be a Canadian astronaut.