Armenian Rescuers Rescue 3 People from Rubble and Discover Over 10 Bodies: Bagrat Estukyan

In Turkey, 11 Armenians who perished in the earthquake have been buried, three of them by the hand of a senior priest sent by the Armenian Patriarchate, while the others regrettably could not be properly buried. This was stated by Bagrat Estukyan, editor of the Armenian-language pages of the Istanbul-based publication Agos, in a conversation with News.am.

Estukyan has no information about the Armenians still trapped in the rubble, and according to him, there are two injured individuals—sisters with fractures.

The residents of the Armenian-populated village of Vaghif, who have been sleeping outside for safety reasons after the earthquake, are gradually returning to their homes, Estukyan noted. “The aftermath of the horror in the first days was that no one wanted to enter their homes; this applies to all settlements in the earthquake zone. People were sleeping outside. Vaghif village has suffered almost no damage, with only a few buildings affected. Fortunately, there were no casualties from the village, but two of the deceased Armenians had previously lived in Vaghif,” Estukyan said.

According to Estukyan, the residents of Vaghif are refusing assistance from the government and the Armenian community because they are adequately supplied with food and other necessities. “They say, ‘Don’t bring items here in vain so they don’t become waste. They advise sending that aid to other disaster areas because the village does not need assistance. There was no electricity in the village after the earthquake, but they were provided with a generator, and electricity has been restored since yesterday. It can be said that the Armenian community currently does not need assistance, as the Armenian Patriarchate is operating in a well-organized manner, along with public organizations like a group called 'Our Armenians' assisting them,” Estukyan explained.

On February 8, 27 rescuers from Armenia who have not yet returned home were working in the city of Adıyaman, which was formerly Armenian-populated. According to Estukyan, many disguised Armenians still live there. “The Armenian rescuers managed to extract 3 living individuals from the rubble, as well as discover over 10 bodies,” Estukyan stated.

Following the devastating earthquake, the number of robberies in Turkey has increased. Initially, in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, people were looting grocery stores out of hunger and need, but in recent days it has escalated into theft. “At first, shopping centers were being looted as people sought food; the looting in those stores was understandable, but gradually it turned into pillaging. People began stealing televisions, washing machines, mobile phones, and looting jewelry stores. What began as looting driven by desperation turned into banditry. For this reason, both the authorities and the public are imposing very harsh penalties, often leveling unfounded accusations. Anyone who appears unfamiliar to them and cannot establish their identity to their satisfaction is immediately subjected to bandit treatment, including lynching, with even fatalities occurring. Law enforcement agencies were slow to enter the disaster zones, and they have also become a source of new unrest; as I mentioned earlier, some of the lynching phenomena are behind law enforcement as well,” Bagrat Estukyan said.

Although no Armenians have been harmed by the robberies, for safety reasons, there is currently a security presence in Vaghif village, as Estukyan noted.

It is reminded that on February 6, a devastating earthquake occurred in Turkey and Syria. According to the latest data, more than 37,000 people have died, over 5,000 of whom were in Syria.