Syrias earthquake one year on: We revisit the epicentre of the Turkey earthquake

IT was and snowing outside when wedding photographer Mehmet Kaya was woken by his mother’s screams. Their apartment building was violently shaking as one of history’s most devastating earthquakes struck Turkey. In seconds, Mehmet, 24, his parents, two sisters and a niece were engulfed by falling masonry and twisted metal. His voice unsteady with emotion, Mehmet told me: “When I tried to escape, my right arm was outstretched and a falling concrete column trapped it and my right leg. “When I opened my eyes I could see my father’s body. “I didn’t want to move my left arm because the body of my six-year-old niece was there.” Mehmet and pet cat Duman were the only survivors. For 19 hours he lay entombed in concrete, with the corpses of mum Haline, 44, dad Erdal, 48, sisters Tugba, 28, and Yaren, 14, and niece Zeynep. Showing me his wedding pictures with his smiling relatives, Mehmet choked back tears as he revealed: “Duman stayed by my mother’s side as