04.02.2026 10:55
Turgut Karaaslan, who lost his wife and four children in the earthquakes on February 6 in Malatya, still feels his pain as if it were the first day. Karaaslan, who does not leave the cemetery he calls "my home," said, "The building collapsed in seven seconds. I was in Kırklareli at that time, working as a driver. We came, but we couldn't make it, we couldn't save anyone. That moment was very difficult. We arrived and the building was gone, completely flattened."
Turgut Karaaslan, who lost his entire family in the apartment located in the Çavuşoğlu neighborhood of Yeşilyurt district in Malatya, still feels his pain as if it were the first day, despite three years having passed since the earthquake.
Karaaslan, who is a truck driver, explained that he learned about the earthquake through a phone call from his brother while he was driving from Kırklareli to Istanbul. He said he left his vehicle by the roadside and returned to Malatya, waiting hopefully at the rubble for a day and a half.
"THE BUILDING COLLAPSED IN SEVEN SECONDS"
Karaaslan, who expressed that he lost four children, his wife, and two relatives who were in the same house during the earthquake, said:
"The building collapsed in seven seconds. I was in Kırklareli at that time, working as a driver. We came, but we couldn't make it, we couldn't save anyone. It was around five o'clock. I had set off from Kırklareli towards Istanbul. I had no idea that an earthquake had occurred. My brother called and said, 'Brother, there was an earthquake in Malatya,' I asked, 'Is there something wrong with our people?' He said, 'Honestly, your building has collapsed,' and at that moment, I was already devastated. I left the car in the middle of the highway. Then I thought, let's not cause trouble for others, I took the car out and left it at the rest area. In that moment of panic, I was running barefoot on the highway in that cold. I thought, 'Let me stop the car and take a taxi to Istanbul, then go to Malatya.' That was a very difficult moment. We arrived, and there was no building, it was completely flat..."
"WE ARRIVED AND THERE WAS NO BUILDING, NO BUILDING YOU KNOW"
Karaaslan, who stated that he encountered rubble upon reaching Malatya, described his first moment as follows:
"We came here with needles and pills. We arrived, and there was no building, no building you know. My people were there too. They had already rescued two people from my family at that time. There was no one else. It was always a hope, 'Is there anyone alive, is there anyone alive?' There was nothing else. After that, we took them all out side by side, wrapped together. We waited there for a day and a half, a day and a half. No one was rescued. There were seven people in my family. I had my wife and a guest with me. They were like sisters with my wife. Since I wasn't home, they said, 'Come sit with us.' May God rest their souls... There is nothing more to say."
"SECURITY DOES NOT ALLOW ME TO COME EVERY DAY DUE TO SUICIDES"
Turgut Karaaslan expressed that after losing his family, the graveyard became the center of his life, saying:
"This is our home. I come every two days, not every day. Even if I come every day, I actually go home in the evenings, I can't stand it. I throw myself here, but security doesn't allow it. I ask, 'Why don't you allow it?' They say, 'We don't allow it due to some suicide incidents.'
The grieving father stated that his eldest daughter passed away at the age of 19, and one of his children is a university student at Boğaziçi University, while another is a university student in Muş, saying, "Our sun has set."
"THEY CUT THE COLUMNS"
Karaaslan, who claimed that the building was recorded as lightly damaged despite being severely damaged, continued:
"They camouflaged the outside, a severely damaged building. They say, 'We didn't cut the columns.' They cut the columns. I found a witness. The man tells me on the phone, 'Brother, I could have turned the truck inside too, they brought the truck and the lorry inside. They cut the column,' he says. He says it openly. I have a voice recording on my phone. No matter if you are a well-known family in Malatya or not, I don't care at all. Justice should be served. You will pay for your crime. Whether this way or that way... you will face your punishment. This is what I want.
"THEY EXTINGUISHED MY SUN, THEY DESTROYED MY HOPES"
God gives, God takes. We cannot reach the Minister of Justice. We cannot reach an official. Who will I reach? I am talking to you. Who will we be in contact with? What I mean to say is justice. I have put on my shroud. What does it matter if I live or die from now on? They extinguished my sun. They destroyed my hopes. Everyone has a dream, and I had one too. Right now, if you gave me Turkey, what would I do with Turkey? I can't work. I haven't been able to work for three years. The sin is on my neck; I haven't been able to do a job for three years.