Doctor 'thought he was going to die' as he describes horror of huge earthquake
A doctor in Syria’s fragile northwest has described fears of death from Monday’s earthquake which devastated the region.
Wailing children, sirens and the crunching of rubble beneath footsteps could all be heard over the phone from the scene in Aleppo.
Dr Sallom described scenes - flattened buildings and hospitals full of bodies - which looked heartbreakingly similar to residents who have faced 11 years of bombardment.
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 9,622 with many more trapped in the rubble.
child, rescued under the rubble, is seen in a hospital under treatment in Idlib (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Another massive shake with a magnitude of 7.5 hit Turkey’s south hours after the original quake.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Latest figures from Turkey's disaster agency show 1,498 fatalities have been recorded and in Syria, two figures have been released - one for government-held areas and another for opposition-held areas.
Around 430 fatalities have been recorded in areas of Syria controlled by the government.
Residents retrieve a small child from the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake (AFP via Getty Images)Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, have confirmed around 390 fatalities in opposition-controlled areas.
"I thought I was going to die. Last night when I heard the rumbles, I thought it was jets in the sky. I was looking for jets in the sky and thought they were targeting buildings like before”, Dr Osama Sallom, Aleppo site manager with the Syrian American Medical Society tells the Mirror.
Personnel and civilians conduct search and rescue operations in Idlib (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)He continues: “I thought maybe I will see the faces of children and babies with blood everywhere again. Those images from 2016 never leave my mind.”
Dr Osama’s fears come from brutal memories of the aerial bombing campaign in his town by the Russian-Syrian coalition.
Much of Syria still bears the scars of the conflict - with fragile buildings, an economic crisis, multiple health crises and dwindling aid from international donors - so the wars war’s toll has hindered relief efforts.
Dr Osama says they need new ventilators and additional intensive care beds. He says they are using the operating theatre as a makeshift waiting room until ICU beds become free.
People receive free meals distributed after an earthquake in Diyarbakir, southeast of Turkey (REFIK TEKIN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)He continues: “Until we receive a new bed we cannot do anything, they just have to wait there. Most of the patients have brain damage, maybe they lose their parents and they know nobody, nobody can talk with them or know anything about them. We don't even know their names.”
The Syrian American Medical Society, which supports 36 facilities in northwestern Syria, said four of its hospitals were damaged and evacuated.
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Ali Hussein Rashid, a 49-year-old relief worker told the Mirror that the street was littered with people at 3 am, following the quake and efforts to save people were hindered due to not having what they needed.
"We had no cherry pickers, no equipment, nothing to pick the people out of the rubble. It was shocking. It can’t be described. Over 50 buildings collapsed, with just five ambulances for the whole area", he continued.
And Jasmine Khaled Kanjo, a 35-year-old teacher from Aleppo pleaded to the Mirror: "How can the people of Britain help us? We need your help."
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