Turkish bulldozer operator embarks on daunting task of delivering bodies to grieving families

Record ID: 1712309

  • Title: Turkish bulldozer operator embarks on daunting task of delivering bodies to grieving families
  • Date: 18th February 2023
  • Summary: KAHRAMANMARAS, TURKEY (FEBRUARY 18, 2023) (REUTERS) 42-YEAR-OLD BULLDOZER OPERATOR FROM KAYSERI , AKIN BOZKURT GETTING INTO BULLDOZER VARIOUS OF BOZKURT DRIVING BULLDOZER THROUGH RUBBLE OF DEMOLISHED BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) 42-YEAR-OLD BULLDOZER OPERATOR FROM KAYSERI, AKIN BOZKURT, SAYING: "It is very important for our people to have a grave. For example, the family
  • Embargoed: 4th March 2023 16:11
  • Keywords: bulldozer operator earthquake in Turkey quake victims victims' bodies
  • Location: KAHRAMANMARAS, TURKEY
  • City: KAHRAMANMARAS, TURKEY
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Europe,Middle East,Earthquakes/Volcanoes/Tsunami,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001137018022023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:As he sifts through the rubble of buildings destroyed by the earthquake last week, bulldozer operator Akin Bozkurt embarks on a daunting task of finding the bodies of the unfortunate victims and deliver them to their grieving relatives.
    "Would you pray to find a dead body? We do. Why? Just to deliver the body to the family," Bozkurt told Reuters on Saturday (February 18).
    42-year-old Bozkrut comes from Kayseri, around 250 kilometres north of Kahramanmaras, the southeastern Turkish city that was closest to the epicentre. He arrived in Kahramanmaras to help with the demolition of destroyed buildings.
    "You recover a body from under tonnes of rubble. Families are waiting with hope. We hope more than the families because they want to have a burial ceremony. They want a grave," Bozkrut said.
    According to Islamic traditions, the dead should be buried as quickly as possible, if not immediately.
    At a graveyard in Kahramanmaras, thousands of new graves vastly outnumbered those which predated the earthquake, underlining the scale of the catastrophe.
    Tents had been erected to perform Islamic burial rituals, and to wrap the bodies in a shroud. Empty coffins, sent from all over Turkey, were piled high.
    "The family says: 'Find a piece of them so we can have a grave.' When we find a body and deliver it to the family, shall we be upset to see them cry or shall we be happy to see them praying for us?" Bozkrut said.
    Turkey's death toll from earthquakes that struck 12 days ago rose to 40,642, the head of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority Yunus Sezer said on Saturday (February 18).
    (Production: Marco Trujillo, Yesim Dikmen, Malgorzata Wojtunik)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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