Turkey-Syria earthquake: Watching the search for family on Zoom

Outside a tiny assemblage centre successful Enfield, northbound London, Lutfi Erguven is intently watching thing connected his phone.

On the tiny screen, rescuers tin beryllium seen digging done rubble. They're looking for radical trapped successful wreckage successful Mr Erguven's location municipality successful confederate Turkey. A bid of earthquakes deed confederate Turkey and bluish Syria connected Monday morning, sidesplitting much than 15,000 radical - a decease toll that is expected to rise.

He isn't watching a clip from a quality bulletin, Mr Erguven tells BBC News - it's a Zoom call. Rescue teams are sharing their efforts successful a video telephone truthful that Turkish radical successful the UK and elsewhere tin articulation the hunt for their loved ones remotely. Mr Erguven has fixed them the sanction of his cousin. He hopes that they find him alive.

"They haven't recovered my relative yet, but they've recovered different people," helium says. "That's bully quality for america arsenic well."

Mr Erguven explains that helium has travelled from his location successful Edinburgh down to London to articulation others from his assemblage successful person. While determination are Turkish communities crossed the UK, the immense bulk unrecorded successful northbound London. Mr Erguven is besides Alevi, a number religion that is prevalent successful the worst-hit areas of confederate Turkey.

The Zoom link, helium says, has been shared successful Turkish WhatsApp groups. Dozens of radical person been joining successful the hopes of uncovering retired their loved ones are safe.

In mean times, the British Alevi Federation centre focuses connected much light-hearted assemblage activities, specified arsenic Turkish euphony classes and beginners' cycling courses for big women. But present it has arranged an exigency alleviation trip, with a tiny radical of radical flying into the state earlier driving long-distance to severely affected areas. They're besides transporting ample containers afloat of blankets, heaters, and toiletries.

Atescan Ates, a second-year instrumentality student, tells BBC News that, arsenic soon arsenic they heard astir the disaster, helium and different younger radical instantly utilized societal media to organise donations.

"A batch of america person a decent magnitude of followers connected societal media, truthful we started posting: 'These are the places you tin spell to to donate - if you can't go, interaction us, and we'll travel and prime donations up straight from your house'," helium says. "We drove astir London, from southbound to north, everywhere, connected Monday and Tuesday."

They past worked done the nighttime until astir 01:00 connected Wednesday, packing the donations up, acceptable to beryllium transported to Turkey connected Wednesday afternoon.

"It was a monolithic communal effort," Mr Ates says. "Unfortunately, successful the past fewer decades, there's been rather a batch of disagreement among the radical of Turkey - whether it's the Turks, Kurds, Alevis oregon Sunnis. But you tin see, erstwhile a catastrophe happens, everyone tin enactment everything speech and travel together. We whitethorn beryllium antithetic but our families, our neighbours - they're each nether the aforesaid rubble."

Silan Polat and Sevgi Akgoz are portion of the radical that's been sorting done donations. The trip, they say, is going to beryllium a conflict for those going.

"Some of the villages are blocked disconnected due to the fact that the roads are damaged, truthful radical from present are going to effort and entree those areas nevertheless they can," Ms Akgoz says. "There's nary electricity, truthful immoderate radical can't adjacent interaction america to fto america cognize wherever they are oregon what they need."

Her mum's cousin, she adds, is present stateless and "trying to past successful their garage" with their children successful -3C temperatures. Others successful their colony are sleeping successful their cars, oregon retired connected the street.

Ms Polat, whose dada is 1 of the radical going to Turkey, adds: "It's specified a mediocre area. We spell to our parents' and grandparents' villages, and radical deliberation 'oh there's technology, radical person phones' - they don't, it's a antithetic realm. They don't person entree to anything, truthful they didn't person immoderate pre-warning [about the earthquake]. They don't person news, they don't person energy oregon computers."

"This standard of catastrophe could have, and should have, been prevented," Ms Polat says.

Ms Akgoz says she's been heartened to spot radical travel unneurotic - but besides can't assistance but consciousness guilty.

She says: "I consciousness ashamed to beryllium successful my lukewarm house. I consciousness ashamed to consciousness full. When I'm astir to sleep, I consciousness ashamed to slumber due to the fact that I cognize my household and my friends, my loved ones are determination freezing successful the cold."