Watching the search for family on Zoom
Outside a small community center in Enfield, north London, Lutfi Urgovin looks at something on her phone.
On the small screen, rescuers can be seen digging through the wreckage. They are searching for people trapped in the rubble in Mr Erguven’s hometown in southern Turkey.
He’s not watching a clip from a news bulletin, Mr Ergwin tells BBC News – it’s a Zoom call. Rescue teams are sharing their efforts in a video call so Turkish people in the UK and elsewhere can join in the search for loved ones from afar.
They say the Zoom link has been shared in Turkish WhatsApp groups. Dozens of people are joining in the hope that their loved ones will be safe.
Mr Irgwin has named his cousin as one of those searching for the wreckage. He hopes they find him alive.
“They haven’t found my cousins yet, but they’ve found other people,” he says. “That’s good news for us, too.”
Mr Ergwin explains that he has traveled down to London from his home in Edinburgh to personally join others in his community. While there are Turkish communities across the UK, the vast majority live in North London.
Fifteen-hour journey from Istanbul showed signs of catastrophe
Our 15-hour drive south through the night from Istanbul, Turkey, showed signs of this disaster.
The landscape itself continued to change, from lightly snow-covered terrain to mountains and fields draped in white.
Temperatures continued to drop below zero – an unusually cold period that has added to the woes of earthquake survivors and rescuers.
Late at night, we stood in line for two and a half hours to get petrol.
Emergency workers in highway jackets huddled together, enjoying the warmth of the hot liquids, and a brief respite from their dangerous mission.
The fourth day of this disaster dawned bright and clear. A popular truck stop was packed, serving only lentil soup.
As we entered Osmania, we pitched blue tents on hilltops, and saw empty wooden coffins piled high in a park next to a cemetery leading to freshly dug graves filled with people. .
Travelling to the earthquake zone is not a smooth ride
Heavy machinery, buses of aid workers and civilians carrying piles of water and food try to pass through the route from the southern city of Adana to Hatay Province.
Ambulances with sirens blaring regularly run back and forth along roadsides, and helicopters can be seen transporting patients to hospitals.
Some parts of the road are badly damaged.
Along the way, we pass people who have lost their homes, and stand on the side of the road looking for a way out of the area.
A couple with small suitcases told us they were looking for a bus to take them away from Hatay and were ready to go anywhere.
In Iskenderun, you walk past mounds of rubble where tall buildings stood, and cars were overturned.
On one road, you pass sea water, which was brought to earth by an earthquake.
Young volleyball players lost in the rubble
Some devastating stories of those lost in the earthquake are beginning to emerge.
Among them is a volleyball team that was staying at a hotel in Adiyaman when the earthquake struck.
Now the bodies of two teachers and one student have been found from the debris of the collapsed building.
39 members of the Famagusta Turkish Education College girls and boys volleyball teams were staying at the seven-story Isias Hotel.
Teachers Pamir Konklu and Ibrahim Yakula have been confirmed dead along with one of their students, identified as Durak Akin.
Four are known to have survived – recovery efforts are ongoing.
