Grieving dad holds hand of dead daughter crushed under rubble following Turkey-Syria earthquake in heartbreaking photo
7 February 2023, 19:39 | Updated: 7 February 2023, 19:54
A moving photo from a city in Turkey ravaged by a devastating earthquake this week shows a father holding the hand of his dead daughter, 15, lying under the rubble of a collapsed apartment block.
The photo emerged after two major earthquakes hit southern Turkey and northwestern Syria on Monday.
A third quake followed with a magnitude of 5.7 the next morning.
Over 7,200 people have now died in Turkey and Syria, with hundreds of buildings destroyed following one of the most deadly natural disasters this century.
The grim milestone comes after the Turkish health minister confirmed that 5,434 people lost their lives in the country alone.
Desperate attempts to locate and free survivors are ongoing, with those trapped under rubble at risk of death from injuries, cold or hunger.
In photo taken in the city of Kahramanmaras, near the epicentre of the quake, dad Mesut Hancer is seen holding the hand of his 15-year-old daughter, who tragically died in the disaster.
She lies lifeless on a bed largely buried in rubble.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the death toll could hit 20,000 and warned that 23 million people could be affected, including 1.4m children.
Charity UNICEF has warned that thousands of children may have been killed in Turkey and Syria.
Meanwhile, footage has emerged from Syria that shows a newborn baby girl taking her first breath with destruction all around her, after her mum went into labour during the earthquake.
Another baby who was born under the rubble of razed buildings in Afrin, in Syria's northeast, has tragically been made an orphan as her parents did didn't survive.
Little is known about the child and its now-deceased family, but it's reported they had already been displaced by the country's war from Deir Ezzor to Afrin.
