Turkish teen filmed 'last moments' from quake-hit apartment
Adiyaman (AP): A 17-year-old high school student has captured Turkish hearts after he filmed a farewell message to his loved ones as he was trapped under the rubble of his home during last week's earthquake.
Taha Erdem and his family were fast asleep when a 7.8 magnitude quake hit their hometown of Adiyaman in the early hours of February 6.
Taha was abruptly woken by violent tremors shaking the four-story apartment building in a blue-collar neighbourhood of the central Anatolian city.
Within 10 seconds, Taha, his mother, father and younger brother and sister were plunging downward with the building.
He found himself alone and trapped under tons of rubble, with waves of powerful aftershocks shifting the debris, squeezing his space amid the mangled mess of concrete and twisted steel.
Taha took out his cellphone and began recording a final goodbye, hoping it would be discovered after his death.
"I think this is the last video I will ever shoot for you," he said from the tight space, his phone shaking in his hand as tremors rocked the collapsed building.
Showing remarkable resilience and bravery for a teenager believing he was speaking his last words, he lists his injuries and speaks of his regrets and the things he hopes to do if he emerges alive. During the video, the screams of other trapped people can be heard.
"We are still shaking. Death, my friends, comes at a time when one is least expecting it." says Taha, before reciting a Muslim prayer in Arabic.
"There are many things that I regret. May God forgive me of all my sins. If I get out of here alive today there are many things that I want to do. We are still shaking, yes. My hand isn't shaking, it's just the earthquake."
The teen goes on to recount that he believes his family are dead, along with many others in the city, and that he willsoon join them.
But Taha was destined to be among some of the first saved from the destroyed building. He was pulled from the rubble two hours later by neighbours and taken to an aunt's home.
Ten hours after the quake, his parents and siblings were also saved by local residents who dug at the wreck of the building with their bare hands and whatever tools they could find.
When The Associated Press spoke to the family on Thursday they were living in a government-provided tent, along with hundreds of thousands of others who survived the disaster that hit southern Turkiye and north Syria, killing more than 43,000.
"This is my home," said Taha's mother Zeliha, 37, as she watched excavators digging up their old life and dumping it into heavy trucks.
"Boom-boom-boom, the building went down floor by floor on top of us," she recalled, describing how she had kept yelling her son's name while trapped under the debris in the hope that all five of them could die together as a family.
The Erdems' younger children daughter Semanur, 13, and 9-year-old son Yigit Cinar were sleeping in their parents' room when the quake hit.
But Taha could not hear his mother's calls through the mass of concrete. Nor could she hear her son's cries in the dark, and both believed the other was lying dead in the destroyed building.
It was only when Zeliha, her husband Ali, 47, a hospital cleaner, and the other children were taken to her sister's home that they realized Taha had survived.
"The world was mine at that moment," Zeliha said. "I have nothing, but I have my kids."
The story of the Erdem family is one of many emotional tales of human fortitude to emerge from the widespread disaster area. Many vividly recount the horrors of being trapped beneath their homes.
Ibrahim Zakaria, a 23-year-old Syrian who was rescued in the coastal Syrian town of Jableh on February 10, told the AP that he survived by licking water dripping down the wall next to him, slipping in and out of consciousness and losing hope of survival in his waking moments.
"I almost surrendered because I thought I will die," he said from his hospital bed. "I thought: There is no escape.'"
In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, 17-year-old Adnan Muhammed Korkut, was trapped for four days before he was rescued. He told the private IHA news agency that he grew so thirsty that he drank his own urine.
Muhammet Enes Yeninar, 17, and his 21-year-old brother were saved after 198 hours in nearby Kahramanmaras.
He said they cried for the first two days, mostly wondering about their mother and whether she had survived, IHA reported. They later began to comfort each other "talking about brotherhood" and eating powdered protein.
Also in Kahramanmaras, Aleyna Olmez, 17, was pulled free after 248 hours under the rubble.
"I tried to pass the time on my own," she said.
Stories of remarkable survival often emerge during disaster, especially following earthquakes, when the world's media records the fading hope of recovering survivors as each hour ticks by.
Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, a 16-year-old girl was rescued in Port-Au-Prince 15 days after an earthquake devastated the city. Three years later, a woman trapped under a collapsed building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was saved after 17 days.
17-year-old quake victim Taha Erdem recorded the moments he was trapped under the debris of his house amid aftershocks following the massive #TurkiyeQuakes on February 6.
— TRT World (@trtworld) February 15, 2023
Erdem and his family survived the quake, whereas 47 people residing in the building were reported dead. pic.twitter.com/nPvwY4ZoCf
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Goa readies to ring in New Year with massive tourist turnout
Panaji (PTI): Goa is bracing for an influx of tourists in the run-up to New Year's Eve, as at least five lakh visitors are expected to throng the beaches and party hotspots of the coastal state to usher in the festivities, an official said on Sunday.
The state tourism department claimed that the December 6 nightclub fire that killed 25 people in Arpora village in North Goa didn't seem to have impacted the activities.
Talking to PTI Videos, State Tourism Director Kedar Naik said Goa is a safe destination, and people will continue to enjoy their New Year celebrations here.
Popular beaches are gearing up for grand firework displays, while shacks are transforming into high-energy party zones that will keep buzzing late into the night.
The state was fully geared up to receive visitors from India and abroad, Naik said.
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"Goa is all set to welcome tourists for the New Year's Eve celebrations. We have seen a large number of tourists coming into the state this entire year," he said.
While the number of tourists was considerably low due to flight cancellations in the first week of December, things have picked up, and now visitors are crowding the beaches and the hinterland, Naik said.
"Regular chartered flights are coming in from Russia and the UK. Apart from these, new chartered services have been started to new destinations and will continue to come till March," he said.
Tourists were seen soaking in the festive atmosphere at restaurants, flea markets and promenades in Calangute and Baga in North Goa and South Goa's beaches, including Benauli, Majorda, Colva and Palolem.
For domestic tourists, the New Year celebrations make Goa the destination of choice this time of the year.
Vaibhav, a tourist from Kolhapur, said, "We came to Goa during the Christmas season to celebrate the holidays. As you can see, the beaches are very crowded, and it feels really nice to be here in Goa."
Social media influencers and content creators are using the vibrant atmosphere as a backdrop for their work, mixed with leisure.
"I have been coming to Goa for many years, and we love Goa. I love the seafood and everything about the place," said Vrushali Jawale, a content creator from Mumbai.
Fireworks are slated to light up the skies along the shoreline at midnight on December 31, while cruise vessels plan special sailings, and music festivals and club events are expected to continue till dawn.
The state, long known for its easygoing vibe, beach shacks and nightlife, is once again set to transform into a massive open-air party venue for revellers from across the world.
