An Australian man was killed in the devastating Turkey earthquake. His nephew flew to find his dead body

Australian Elias Bahali sat for minutes behind the body of his uncle, squatting and silent, after a week-long mission to extract it from the rubble in the collapsed city of Antakya in southern Turkey.

John Bahali, 67, from Sydney, was visiting family in Antakya when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria a week ago, killing tens of thousands of people and burying a house in the rubble.

Ilyas Bahali traveled to Turkey to find his uncle, a well-known operating shop volunteer, who he described as his family’s “hotspot”.

But he and many of the earthquake survivors had to search for their loved ones on their own.

Rescue workers arrived days late and in insufficient numbers in Antakya and the surrounding Hatay province.

They lost crucial time rescuing victims under rubble in freezing temperatures, sparking public outrage against the Turkish government for the flawed response.

Ilias Bahali believes his uncle could have been saved if rescuers had reached him sooner.

“My uncle could have survived,” he told the ABC, minutes after the body was removed from the rubble.

“From what I heard, on the first day, someone was calling out from that building.

He was calling out but no one left [to him]. “

How to help the victims of the Turkish and Syrian earthquakes

How did the recovery mission unfold?

Elias Bahali and his relatives spent four days looking for help excavating the ruins of a collapsed house, where Banali was visiting his family.

Yesterday, with hopes of finding survivors fading and many rescuers abandoning their operations, Mr. Pahali finally convinced a Thai rescue team with a thermal camera to scan the site.

They spot his uncle’s arm in the rubble.

Today, three weary rescuers have joined him to excavate his uncle’s body from crushed concrete, planks and twisted metal.

In the end, it only took three hours.

Elias Bahali traveled from Australia to Hatay so that he could find his uncle Can, who died in the earthquake. (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)

Mr. Pahali and the men lifted the body from the rubble and carried it up a street where it could finally be collected.

He washed his hands with a plastic water bottle, and broke the news to his family as tears streamed down his dusty face.

Finally, he lowered his body and crossed his legs for a few minutes of silence, and sat down behind his uncle’s corpse under the canopy of a damaged shop.

Bahali said he felt “relief”.

Elias believes that his uncle could have been saved if rescuers had reached him in time. (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)

“The worst part is that there was no body,” he said.

“Now we have a body to bury.”

Anger grows in earthquake-hit Turkey

Pahali, better known as John, was a beloved member of the Glebe community in central Sydney, and volunteered at the local op shop and soup kitchen.

He moved in with Elias and his mother at their home in Merrylands, in western Sydney, during the COVID pandemic.

He was visiting his sister at her home when the earthquake struck, turning the city of Antakya into a wasteland of destroyed buildings, corpses, and desperate survivors.

His sister managed to survive by running to her kitchen, which somehow remained intact, but Pahali was missing, and he feared death.

Kan Pahali’s family traveled to the disaster area to retrieve his body. (supplied)

Three Australians are confirmed dead in the earthquake, which is so far known to have killed more than 33,000 people in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria.

Read more about the earthquake disaster:

Bahali said rescuers were overwhelmed by the scale of the damage.

“They were only looking for live bodies and were not interested in the dead,” he said.

Unless they hear a sound [in the rubble]No one will come to help. My cousin has been walking around for days asking for help.

“They are all interested in the big apartments. Everyone is focused on them.”

The death toll from the earthquakes that struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria exceeded 33,179. (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged some initial “shortcomings” in the earthquake response.

But critics in Hatay province have been accused of lying about emergency operations and vowed to “keep a record of all opponents”.

His government has also been criticized for poor preparations and poor construction standards in the earthquake-prone region.

Public outbursts of anger are rare in Turkey, where protests are banned, opponents muzzled, and many fear the consequences of criticizing the government.

Ilyas says he will stay in Turkey for the time being to help other earthquake survivors. (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)

“Everyone, even the rescuers, are all angry at the Turkish government,” Ilyas Bahali said.

“I don’t want to say too much because it’s a bit of a risk for me.

“I’ll have a lot to say when I get back [to Australia]. “

Bahali said he plans to stay in southeastern Turkey to help the many survivors who are still searching for their loved ones and who have no shelter, electricity, fuel or running water.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos