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
Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.
Ottawa injects another $36M into fund for those seriously injured or killed by vaccines
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.