Students and teachers trapped under rubble of hotel in devastating earthquake

06 February 2023 , 10:58

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Students and teachers trapped under rubble of hotel in devastating earthquake

Around 70 students, parents and teachers are trapped under the rubble of a hotel in southeastern Turkey, following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake.

Around 43 students from various universities in Adıyaman and 30 students, parents and teachers of Famagusta Turkish Maarif College have been left in the wreckage of the Grand Isias Hotel in Adıyaman, local reports state.

It is said 14 players of the Hatay Volleyball Girls' Team are under the rubble of the hotel and parents from the Famagusta TMK boys' secondary school team in Adıyaman also cannot reach their children.

Multiple accounts on Twitter are reporting that the sports teams were staying at the hotel and now parents from across the country are unable to reach their loved ones.

Someone is rescued from the wreckage of a building during ongoing search and rescue efforts after earthquake (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, razing buildings to the ground and killing at least 3,400 people and wounding close to 6,000 with many more trapped in the rubble.

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The epicentre of the quake was in the Turkish city of Gaziantep and tremors were felt as far as Egypt and Israel.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said 912 have died, bringing the overall death toll in Turkey and Syria to more than 1,300.

The number of wounded is now 5,385 in Turkey and 600 in Syria.

The epicentre of the quake was in the Turkish city of Gaziantep (AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, at least 386 people in neighbouring Syria have died after the earthquake, with the toll likely to rise. This includes 239 people in government-controlled Syria and 139 in rebel-held parts of the country.

Famagusta Turkish Maarif College Director Savaş Moralı spoke to local news site YENİDÜZEN and said: “There seems to be a problem in Adıyaman. I don't know what the size of the problem is. I've been worried since I got the news."

Justice and Development Party deputy Yakup Taş and his family are also under the rubble in Adıyaman.

A man reacts as people search for survivors through the rubble in Diyarbakir (AFP via Getty Images)

One resident tweeted: "There are thousands under the rubble in Adıyaman. Everyone is trying to save it by their own means. Officials need to go down to the field urgently."

While another said: "The situation in Adıyaman is a complete disaster and unfortunately there is still no effort to save the people under the rubble.

"Dozens of people from my family are waiting to be rescued under the rubble. Even the Public Health Directorate was demolished."

The wife of Hatayspor football team manager Volkan Demirel has shared a tearful message after Turkish goalkeeper Eyup Turkaslan was reportedly among those trapped under rubble.

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Yeni Malatyaspor, where Turkaslan plays his football, shared a photo of the goalkeeper with the caption "Our prayers are with you."

“Hatay is in a very bad way,” Zeynep Sever Demirel said in a video shared on social media. A number of her friends were believed to still be trapped under rubble, with fears that more footballers could also be affected by the disaster.

Rachel Hagan