KAHRAMANMARAS, Türkiye

Thirty years ago, Mahmut Sulayici built a family building in central Kahramanmaras, not knowing that it would collapse in an earthquake, killing his son, two daughters, a son-in-law and four grandchildren.

Speaking to Anadolu, his wife Elif said they already lost a son to cancer some 20 years ago.

“And now, I have lost all my children. We could not save even one of them. My grandchildren have also gone. This pain is unbearable,” she said, referring to the devastating earthquakes that shook southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, killing over 35,000 people and leaving a trail of destruction.

Turkan, 40, Sait, 30, and Sukran, 43, lived almost their entire life in the family building, which is meters away from their father’s petrol station. Sukran had four children, ages 21, 20, 15 and 13.

The eldest, Birsen, was a newly qualified nurse and was about to receive her first-ever salary on Feb. 15.

“Birsen was such a beautiful and kind person, she was loved by all. She had an oath; she was going to donate all of her first salary to people in need. She is now gone. She had dreams to realize,” said the grandmother Elif.

Sait had gone extremely quiet in the past month, said Elif, adding that she was worried about his wellbeing.

“He didn’t have any illness or a problem. He was even more quiet in the last three days leading to the earthquakes. I asked him what the matter was. I asked him repeatedly. He said there was nothing," she said. "Thinking about it all now, I believe he must have felt what was coming for us.”

Similar stories can be heard all across the city, where locals tend to stay in the same apartment building and in some cases have their family businesses on the ground floor.

Now that they have lost all their children and grandchildren, Mahmut and Elif are trying to hold on to life with the support of their relatives and friends who are visiting the couple in their tents outside the collapsed building.