THE cousin of a man living and working in south Cumbria has died in the devastating earthquake which rocked the Turkish-Syrian border.
Thirty-nine-year-old Mustafa Akgoz, a professional barber at Bodrum Traditional Turkish Barber in Barrow, lives in Kendal. Mr Akgoz said his parents, brothers and sister are safe but it had been three days since he had heard from his aunt, uncle and their 12 and 14-year-old daughters.
Tragically yesterday afternoon he was told his 12-year-old cousin Zeynep Akgoz had been found dead.
He said: “I’m still waiting for the news to know if they are alive. They are still under the building and we are not sure if they are alive or dead.
“My family’s houses collapsed. Now they are sleeping in my grandparents’ village in barns, not in proper houses.”
“I lost my people. It damaged my family and friends. There is no water, no electricity, no food, no nothing and everyone is outside living in the cold “
He is appealing for the local community to donate goods to his home city Adyaman in Turkey.
The devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria at around 4am on Monday.
Earthquake survivors are in need of water, food, shelter and power.
The barber is asking for the community to support him by donating goods including blankets, baby nappies and children clothes.
“I’m not asking people for money, I’m asking people for stock. Money is not going to make people happy”, said Mr Akgoz.
However he is ‘not sure’ on how to send the items to the people in Turkey and he is ‘desperate’ for assistance.
“If my country was near me I could drive in a van alone and put all the stock in the trunk, but it is 4,000 miles away so that is why I really need help, otherwise I don’t know what I’m going to do.
“I would be happy to sponsor a big van and take all the stock with me. I would not mind travelling with a friend all the way to Turkey from Kendal to help my people.”
The death toll from the earthquake has climbed past 11,000 - making it the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade.
The country has now some 60,000 aid personnel in the area but with the devastation so widespread many are still waiting for help.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 13 million of the country’s 85 million people have been affected.
He has declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces. More than 8,000 people have been pulled from the debris in Turkey and some 380,000 have taken refuge in government shelters or hotels, authorities said.
Teams from nearly 30 countries around the world headed for Turkey and Syria.
In addition to the thousands killed in Turkey, 37,011 have been injured.
The region sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes.
Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit north-west Turkey in 1999.
To help Mustafa Akgoz, visit Bodrum Traditional Turkish Barber at 37 Crellin Street, Barrow.
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