Ekin-Su says her family are 'sleeping outside' after Turkey earthquake

‘It’s really heartbreaking’: Love Island’s Ekin-Su Culculoglu reveals her Turkish family are ‘sleeping outside’ after horror earthquake and urges people to donate as death toll hits 11,000

• Ekin-Su Culculoglu is of Turkish origin and lived in Istanbul for two years
• The Love Island star, 28 said her loved ones were caught up in Monday’s disaster
• READ MORE about the Turkey-Syria earthquake as the death toll hits 11,000

Ekin-Su Culculoglu has revealed that some of her extended family have been forced to sleep outside after a devastating earthquake hit parts of Turkey and Syria.

The Love Island winner, 28, who is of Turkish origin and lived in Istanbul for two years, said some of her extended family have been caught up in Monday’s disaster.

She appeared on Sky News on Tuesday to discuss the earthquake and explained that members of her extended family have been forced to sleep outside following the disaster.

Her comments come as officials and medics said 9,057 people had died in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the total to 11,719 – making it the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade.

During her televised appearance from her Essex home, Ekin-Su admitted it has been a ‘scary’ time for her as she threw her support behind relief efforts.

Shock: Ekin-Su Culculoglu has revealed that her family have been forced to sleep outside after a devastating earthquake hit parts of Turkey and Syria

She said: ‘I have members of my family who have obviously experienced the shake, they’ve been outside, they’ve been sleeping outside. 

‘It’s scary because it’s people who are very close to me. I’ve had numerous people on Instagram reach out to me, they’ve sent me locations of an address, pictures live. They are screaming for help.

‘I want to use my platform as much as I can to help anyone out there from Syria and Turkey.’

Ekin-Su, who has taken part in an appeal video for the British Red Cross, said she has donated money to rescue efforts and wants to go to Turkey at the ‘first opportunity’ with the charity.

She said: ‘As soon as the opportunity is given to me, I am there. Obviously it’s my home, it’s my second language. Anything I can do, I’m there to support anyone. So first opportunity, I’ll be there.’ 

‘Anyone in the UK or whoever was following me [on Instagram] from whatever I was on before, I just want to shout here again, please help. We’ve got children, families, friends desperately in need of your help,’ she continued.

‘I cannot emphasise this more. It’s really sad, it’s really heartbreaking. We are a nation, we are in this together. I am lost for words, it’s my hometown, it’s my country.’

Ekin-Su was born in Islington, London, to Turkish parents Sezer and Zekai and lived in Istanbul while starring on Turkish television shows, before moving back to the UK. Her parents relocated to the UK and she also has a younger brother Arda.

Horror: Her comments come as officials said 9,057 people had died in Turkey (pictured: Hatay city centre) and 2,662 in Syria from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the total to 11,719

Speaking about her firsthand experience living in the country, she admitted she was ‘always in fear’ of earthquakes during her two-year stint residing in Istanbul.

She said: ‘I always lived in fear when I lived in Istanbul, but the fact that this has hit many cities and it has affected a big area of Turkey and Syria is so devastating.’

The Turkey-Syria earthquake’s death toll has risen to 11,719 – with officials saying 9,057 people had died in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria – making it the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade.

It is more than the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal in 2015 which killed more than 8,800 people. 

Officials say the death toll could double if the worst fears of experts are realised, which would bring the number of fatalities close to the magnitude nine quake off the coast of Japan that killed nearly 20,000 in 2011.

Upset: The Love Island winner, 28, who is of Turkish origin and lived in Istanbul for two years, said some of her loved ones have been caught up in Monday’s disaster

Family: Ekin-Su was born in Islington, London, to Turkish parents Sezer and Zekai and lived in Istanbul for two years. She also has a younger brother Arda (pictured with his mother)

Meanwhile, rescuers in Turkey and Syria continued their search for survivors trapped inside the ruins of their homes brought down by the devastating quake.

Against all the odds, search teams were still pulling people from the rubble on Wednesday more than 48 hours after the initial 7.8-magnitude quake. This included an entire Syrian family who were found alive after days trapped in freezing darkness.

Miraculous videos have emerged showing children being found by rescue teams across the devastated region, and pulled from wrecks of buildings covered in dust, but alive. On Tuesday, a newborn baby was saved – still attached to her dead mother.

Rescuers also pulled a three-year-old boy, Arif Kaan, from beneath the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in Kahramanmaras, a city near the epicentre.

A few hours later, rescuers pulled 10-year-old Betul Edis from the rubble of her home in the city of Adiyaman. Amid applause from onlookers, her grandfather kissed her and spoke softly to her as she was loaded on an ambulance.

Efforts: Rescuers in Turkey and Syria continued their search for survivors trapped inside the ruins of their homes brought down by the quake. Pictured: Collapsed buildings are seen in Antakya, southern Turkey

However, scores more are thought to be still alive underneath huge piles of concrete and twisted metal, and the WHO has warned that time is running out for the thousands injured and those still feared trapped. 

More than 90 per cent of earthquake survivors are rescued within the first three days, said Ilan Kelman, a professor of disasters and health at University College London.

‘Generally, earthquakes do not kill people, collapsing infrastructure kills people,’ said Kelman, who has published research on quake rescue responses.

The most pressing factor is getting medical attention to people crushed under collapsed buildings before ‘their bodies fail’ or they bleed out, he said.

Devastating: More than 90 per cent of earthquake survivors are rescued within the first three days, said professor Ilan Kelman. Pictured: Collapsed buildings in Antakya, southern Turkey

Weather is also a key factor, and ‘it is completely against us’ in Turkey and Syria, Kelman told AFP news agency. The quake-hit regions have suffered through freezing temperatures as well as rain and snow since Monday.

‘This very sadly means that hypothermia is possible, and people are probably unfortunately perishing due to the weather,’ Kelman said.

Those who do manage to survive the cold and their injuries still need food and water.

Without water, many people ‘will start dying at the three, four, five day mark,’ he said.

Hopes for more rescues are dimming as time goes on, with frigid temperatures and ongoing aftershocks complicating rescue efforts.

‘We are in the 55th hour. These are the hours when the rescue efforts are the most intense and sensitive,’ Murat Kurum, Turkey’s minister of environment and urbanisation, said at the HQ of Turkey’s AFAD disaster agency.

Shocking scenes: A drone view of Iskenderun city, Hatay, southeast Turkey, shows widespread devastation

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