09 February 2023 , 03:40
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Love Island star Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu has issued a heartbreaking statement following the deadly earthquake in Turkey, saying members of her family are sleeping outside in the country.
Twin earthquakes — the first a magnitude 7.8 and the second a 7.5 — hit Turkey and neighbouring Syria on Monday morning and have killed over 11,000 people so far; thousands more are injured and missing.
The former Dancing On Ice contestant, 28, has once again pleaded with people to help the countries, revealing how it has affected her Turkish family.
While Ekin-Su was born in London, she was born to Turkish parents and lived in the country's capital of Istanbul for a number of years.
Speaking to Mark Austin on Sky News, she said: "I have members of my family who have obviously experienced the shake, they've been outside, they've been sleeping outside.
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Ekin-Su wants to use her platform to help those affected by the earthquakes (Sky News)"It's scary because it's people who are very close to me. I've had numerous people on Instagram reach out to me, they've sent me locations of an address, pictures live. They are screaming for help.
"I want to use my platform as much as I can to help anyone out there from Syria and Turkey."
And she also revealed she had previously been nervous about earthquakes hitting the country when she lived there, saying she "always lived on the edge".
Explaining how she felt during her two-year residency, she said: "You never know, any movement, we're always scared of the next earthquake.
Civilians look for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras (AFP via Getty Images)"There were predictions made many years ago that there would be a big earthquake in Istanbul, I always lived in fear when I lived in Istanbul."
On Tuesday, Ekin-Su took to Instagram to share an emotional appeal, pleading with her 3.2 million followers to donate what they could to a fundraising page.
Sharing an infographic of the death toll alongside an image of decimated buildings, Ekin-Su wrote: “I’m pleading we help people are dying! Help stop the suffer in Turkey and Syria please help.
“I have donated as much as I can and we need to spread awareness.” [sic]
Search and rescue team working at the site in Hatay (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Footballer Christian Atsu, who previously played for both Chelsea and Newcastle United and now is signed to Hatayspor, is said to still be missing in the debris.
Conflicting reports had suggested he had been pulled from the rubble of an 11-storey building, but on Wednesday club doctor Gurbey Kahveci said the club had yet to locate the 31-year-old.
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