ADIYAMAN- Nazım Portakal, who was rescued from the rubble on the 3rd day of the earthquake in Adıyaman, said that AFAD, who came late to rescue him, left before he could save one of his jammed legs and that the teams from Spain rescued him.

 

While thousands of people who were trapped under the rubble were rescued days later in the earthquake that occurred consecutively in Maraş and affected 10 cities, the dead bodies of thousands of them are still under the rubble. While search and rescue efforts continue in the earthquake that caused great destruction, citizens cannot enter their homes due to the aftershocks, although 12 days have passed since the earthquake. The emergency aid that comes to the citizens trying to stay warm in tents in harsh weather conditions is prevented by the police from reaching the earthquake victims.

 

'I COULD NOT MAKE MY VOICE HEARD'

 

Nazım Portakal (25), who lost 10 of his relatives along with his mother and father in the earthquake, and was rescued from the rubble on the third day of the earthquake, is one of the earthquake victims who could not get help for a long time. Portakal, which was on the first floor of an 8-storey apartment building in Yeni Mahalle, located in the center of Adıyaman, fell into the basement of the apartment during the earthquake and remained under the rubble. Describing the 3 days he got through, Portakal said: "I left the room I was in during the earthquake, went to the kitchen and went under the table in the kitchen. As the building collapsed, I fell into debris 2 floors down, all the way to the basement. The only thing I remember is that I'm covered in dust everywhere. I realized that my foot was stuck somewhere. The windows of the window were always sunk to my right and left. Building materials were always on me. At first there was no pain whatsoever. In the hours after that, more pain started. This time, I shouted and called psychologically, but I could not make my voice heard.”

 

AFAD DID NOT RESCUE VICTIM AND LEFT HIM

 

Noting that his relatives determined his location and threw blankets on him, Portakal said: “They were going to take my foot off, the second aftershock started. I said 'run'. My relatives escaped and went upstairs to avoid being caught in that earthquake. After that, my foot got stuck in a worse place. After a while, AFAD teams came and saved my left foot, but left without saving my right foot. They wanted to cut off my foot. My relatives came hours later and rejected it. My relatives were more knowledgeable than AFAD. They put my foot in a very empty space."

 

'SPAIN TEAM SAVED ME'

 

Expressing that his foot was relieved after the intervention of his relatives, but his foot could not be saved from the jammed beam due to the lack of materials, Portakal said: "Then another team from AFAD came again. I talked to them a little. I couldn't stand it anymore. I had no strength. They said, 'The Spanish team will come, wait'. As soon as I saw their faces, I was very relieved. The Spain team took me out of there after 2-3 hours of work. They took me to the hospital right after they took me out. As soon as I entered the hospital, they put my foot in a plaster without making any films.”

 

'CIVILIAN POPULATION HELP US MORE THAN STATE'

 

Portakal's uncle, Mulla Portakal, who lives in Gaziantep, told that when he heard that his brother's building was demolished in Adıyaman, he immediately set out and his nephew was saved as follows: Apart from AFAD, civilian youth made an effort to save my nephew. I see they are trying harder than us. Civilian teams from outside helped us a lot. I don't know if it's because of what they've been through before, but they were more experienced than us. Again, they provided food aid to us. In other words, the state and the AFAD team appeared to us on the 3rd day. The biggest factor in the rescue of my nephew was the civilian population. The civilian population helps us more than the state. AFAD didn't help us because they didn't have the material."

 

MA / Rukiye Adıgüzel