27.06.2026 14:05
Ahmet Artan, who survived the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes and was caught in Hatay, was mistakenly recorded as "dead" in the system due to name similarity. Although his records in many institutions have been corrected, he still appears as deceased in the Ministry of Health system. Artan, who said, "An ambulance team had crashed into my vehicle. When police officers asked about the vehicle's heir, I learned I was dead," wants this mistake to be corrected.
The earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş caused great destruction in Hatay, and nearly 25,000 people lost their lives. Ahmet Artan, 39, who was caught in the century's disaster in his third-floor apartment in the Narlıca neighborhood, was rescued from his trapped home after a half-hour struggle. The earthquake survivor was entered into the system as deceased instead of a citizen who shared the same first name, last name, and father's name and died in the earthquake. After the name confusion, Artan, who still appears as "dead" in many institutions, faces the warning "Person is deceased, transaction cannot be performed" in the healthcare system, although he managed to correct the error in bank transactions.
"HE BEGAN TO BE CALLED 'THE LIVING DEAD'" Artan, who stated that he needs a health report to renew his expired driver's license, cannot renew it because he cannot obtain the report. Trying to prove to the system every day that he is alive, Artan called the 182 MHRS appointment system to prove himself to the healthcare system but was met with the response "No suitable appointment found." Known as the "living dead" by those around him, Artan still appears as deceased in the health system despite 1,235 days having passed since the century's disaster, news reports, and his applications. Artan, who says he has proven he is alive to Turkey, says that even though everyone knows he is alive, the system still refuses to accept it.
"I LEARNED I WAS DEAD WHEN AN AMBULANCE TEAM HIT MY CAR" Ahmet Artan, who learned he was 'dead' after an ambulance hit his car following the earthquake, said, "After the earthquake, I was working with a search and rescue team at the time. An ambulance team hit my car in front of the field hospital. We arrived at the scene, and our police friend came. He asked me, 'Can the heirs of this car come?' I said, 'This car has no heirs.' I said, 'I am the owner of this car, Ahmet Artan.' He told me, 'Ahmet Artan appears as dead,' and said that an heir had been assigned to the car. That's when I learned I was dead, or more precisely, I learned I was dead in the system. I tried to log into e-Devlet at that time, but e-Devlet wouldn't accept me. When I went to the PTT, I handed my ID to the clerk friend, but the clerk said, 'You appear as dead here, and it says the person is deceased, transaction cannot be performed.' I went to the population office and many other places; none of them could fix it. In the petition the prosecutor wrote, we wrote, 'I did not die in the earthquake, but I was shown as dead, an error occurred, and we need to correct it.' About 60 days passed, and after that process, it was fixed in many institutions. Until last year, I was still appearing as dead in many banks; I couldn't use credit cards, bank accounts, or anything. Thank God we fixed that now, but now our only problem is the Ministry of Health. Currently, I appear as dead in the ministry's system."
"THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS I'M ALIVE, BUT THE SYSTEM DOESN'T ACCEPT IT" Ahmet Artan, stating that he has proven to all of Turkey that he is alive but cannot convince the system, said, "My driver's license has expired, and I want to renew it. I cannot renew my license, and no family doctor can accept me. Because the system gives an error: 'Person is deceased, transaction cannot be performed.' We went with our reporter friend and gave the ID. Thanks to the doctor, he watched us on TV and greeted us with a laugh. 'The system still shows the warning: person is deceased, transaction cannot be performed.' We smiled there, of course, but I am experiencing very serious problems. The whole world has learned that I am alive. After this incident became known, all my friends, including my children, call me 'the living dead.' The whole world knows I am alive, but the system just cannot accept it. It says, 'Person is deceased, transaction cannot be performed.' I pray for mercy for that deceased person in my place. When I asked many people, this person, whose registry is tied to Urfa, died in our Hatay. Instead of showing him as dead, they showed me as dead due to the confusion. Since our father's names are also the same, Mehmet, and our names are Ahmet Artan, a once-in-a-century coincidence found us."
Artan said that his only wish is for the error in the system to be corrected, and he wants to receive services from hospitals, health centers, and other institutions like everyone else.