15 homes, just three survivors - the community lost under one Turkish apartment block

On an indistinct mound of rubble successful confederate Turkey is an uncannily well-preserved model framework with a butterfly people curtain that flutters successful the acold wind.

Before the earthquake, 19-year-old Ceyda Ocan looked done that model and those curtains, connected to her thoroughfare successful the metropolis of Iskenderun. Now her champion person Damla is connected the thoroughfare with her household to support vigil astatine the fallen flat block, hoping that Ceyda has survived, arsenic rescue workers sift and dogs sniff for signs of life.

Damla met Ceyda successful the neighbourhood erstwhile she was six and Ceyda eight, and they stayed close. They bought those curtains unneurotic connected a caller buying trip.

"We some emotion butterflies," Damla says, weeping. On her telephone is simply a representation of a day barroom Ceyda organised for Damla with her sister, and successful purple icing with butterfly decorations it says: "Who loves you the astir successful the world? Us of course!"

Ceyda's flat block, called Orcan, sat successful a enactment of mid-rise pinkish and beige buildings with tiny balconies, successful the centre of Iskenderun, each with shops connected the crushed floor. When the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck astatine 04:17 connected Monday, Ceyda would person been sleeping, on with the different residents of Orcan.

The artifact crumpled with the unit of the tremor.

Many buildings successful confederate Turkey person been wiped retired of beingness this week, but this is the communicative of Orcan, location to Ceyda and her household alongside the residents of 14 different flats. In the days aft the quake, their friends and household gathered circular Orcan hoping for the best, and speaking of their loved ones.

We witnessed 1 little infinitesimal of elation connected Wednesday erstwhile a subsister was pulled from the rubble aft much than a time of digging - 1 of Ceyda's neighbours.

According to rescuers and residents successful the area, she managed to accidental that she had spoken to Ceyda done the fallen walls, and that Ceyda had said she was OK. But officials warned that the subsister was disorientated - it mightiness not person really happened. By Friday, determination was nary much news.

We went backmost to Orcan for 3 days successful a enactment to witnesser the informal rescue efforts, the radical fleeing for safer places, and the tract hospitals erected for survivors. Rescuers and neighbours each told america that they knew of 3 radical who survived - the remainder are unaccounted for.

Those gathered said Orcan was location to a tight-knit community, wherever neighbours would often sojourn each other's homes for beverage oregon beardown Turkish coffee.

Residents of Orcan and different buildings connected the thoroughfare had WhatsApp groups and arranged regular meet-ups. "It was like, your spot this week, yours next," 1 section antheral said. "This is the Turkish way."

When asked what the neighbourhood was like, Damla's uncle Emrullah, who ran the section market shop, clasped his hands together. "Like this," helium said.

Orcan has stood for decades. "I'm 50 years aged and I retrieve walking past it connected my mode to and from school," 1 antheral said.

When the earthquake hit, locals told america the buildings connected Orcan's enactment fell "like dominoes". On either broadside of the enactment of destruction, akin buildings look unscathed and their residents spoke with some guilt and relief.

Cansu, a section paramedic, knew respective of the radical who lived successful Orcan. After the earthquake hit, she near her location and ran circular the country to the entranceway of Ceyda's street, she said.

The buildings on that enactment are present crumpled unneurotic successful a wide of debris. Only a fewer traces of the residents wrong are visible: a kite decorated with characters from the Disney movie Frozen; a torn Quran; a squashed achromatic oven; a red-rimmed clock, frozen successful time.

A antheral whose gramps - a swimming enthusiast with a emotion for brew and stuffed peppers - lived successful the gathering adjacent doorway reached into the rubble beneath Ceyda's curtains and pulled retired a phone.

It was inactive moving - and the inheritance representation was his grandfather's face. The antheral smiled a bittersweet smile.

A mother, 63-year-old Sehvar, and her non-verbal girl Derya lived connected the archetypal level of the flat block.

Family members watching the rescue efforts said the brace spent astir of their clip unneurotic astatine home, Sehvar caring for her daughter.

"Even if she is live and hears the sounds asking if anyone is retired there, she volition not beryllium capable to answer," said Derya's sister Deniz, who travelled from her location immoderate 2 hours distant to beryllium astatine the wreckage.

On the aforesaid floor, connected the different broadside of the building, lived assemblage postgraduate Berk. One antheral said helium was often seen astir the neighbourhood drinking Coca-Cola, and joked that helium indispensable person drunk litres of it each day.

Many who talked astir him said helium was "intelligent", "sociable" and "handsome".

Berk's member Dogukan said helium was trapped beneath rubble astatine the ft of the gathering with his parent aft the earthquake, but was rescued successful the contiguous aftermath. He was captious of the authoritative rescue effort, and said helium had waited nether the rubble for 9 hours.

He said helium did not privation to speech astir the acquisition much portion his member was inactive missing, but neighbours said helium had been rescued aft managing to telephone his different brother, who was not astatine location astatine the clip of the earthquake, for help.

Berk has not been seen successful days and his parent is present successful infirmary with injuries, seemingly telling doctors: "I cannot consciousness my feet and my lad is trapped inside".

On the 2nd level lived different parent and girl - 64-year-old Hatice and 33-year-old Derya.

One household subordinate described the brace arsenic being similar Tom and Jerry.

"Whatever 1 did, the different did the opposite. But they couldn't unrecorded without each other," the comparative said. "They are astir apt inches isolated adjacent now."

Mevlut - Derya's begetter and Hatice's ex-husband - has waited each time for quality of the pair.

He described his girl arsenic being "beautiful" and "full of life", cupping his hands astir his look for emphasis.

In Derya's job, helium said, she was liable for ensuring harmless environments successful the workplace.

That meant she would cognize "where to go, what to do, however to act" successful an emergency.

He was staying affirmative and was afloat of religion successful his daughter's capabilities, holding retired anticipation that she would "lead her parent and others to a harmless spot successful the building".

Living with Ceyda connected the 3rd level was her parent and father. Her older sister had moved distant from location but was inactive nearby. Neighbours gathered told america that erstwhile her sister arrived astatine Orcan aft the earthquake, she fainted and had to beryllium carried away.

Her grandparents besides lived astir the corner. Their building, too, was destroyed by the earthquake.

Relatives picture them arsenic a adjacent household and the parents arsenic the cleanable couple.

Ceyda's dad, Cengiz, owned a spare parts shop. Her mum had mislaid 2 of her sisters earlier successful life, and household members accidental they interest however she volition header if she is pulled from the wreckage to larn that her parents are besides present dead.

Ceyda's popularity successful the assemblage is evident wrong minutes of arriving connected the street. Friends faces airy up erstwhile they callback memories of her, portion some her existent and ex-boyfriend articulation the hunt for her.

She was described arsenic outgoing and thoughtful, and had been moving hard to get into a assemblage successful Istanbul this twelvemonth to survey with Damla.

"Her favourite happening is going for coffee," Damla says, adding that Ceyda would often instrumentality her friends retired successful her achromatic Volkswagen car.

The car is present parked metres from the ruined flat building, its windshield crushed. A reddish lighter tin beryllium seen inside.

On Friday, rescue workers called successful done Ceyda's window: "Is anyone live there?" earlier dense machinery broke into the room, pushing those butterfly curtains into the debris.

Damla says she is inactive determined that Ceyda volition beryllium recovered harmless and "will grin again".

While we stayed adjacent the building, learning astir its residents from friends and family, 1 subsister was pulled out.

It was Ferdane, a azygous parent successful her 50s who is well-liked successful the community.

She was the subsister who said she had spoken to Ceyda.

Rescue workers said she was injured and distressed and had been taken to hospital, wherever her big lad was astatine her bedside.

When she was being taken away, she had asked however agelong she had been nether rubble for, 1 idiosyncratic said.

Her lad replied: "Three days mama." She thought it had been six.

By Friday, though, rescue workers had told the families inactive waiting astatine the tract that they should not expect immoderate much survivors.

If determination were, it would beryllium a miracle, they said.

Additional reporting by Emrah Bulut, Nihan Kalle and Tural Ahmedzade. Visual journalism by Dominic Bailey and photography by Hale Akhtay and Alice Cuddy.