He left the city but couldn't forget February 6th! The unending pain of the symbolic figure of the earthquake.

06.02.2026 10:02

Those who lost their loved ones in the earthquakes on February 6, 2023, which are described as the "disaster of the century," visited the cemetery in Kahramanmaraş. Among those who came to the cemetery was Mesut Hançer, a father who gained attention for holding a photo of his daughter’s hand trapped under the rubble during the earthquake. Hançer, who has settled in Ankara and visited his daughter's grave, said, "The year has come, this pain is never forgotten. It is a pain that can never be described."

On the anniversary of the February 6 earthquakes that broke the heart of Turkey, those who lost their lives were not forgotten. Despite the darkness of the night and the cold weather, citizens who went to the Kahramanmaraş Kapıçam City Cemetery watered the graves of their loved ones and left flowers.

EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS CRIED IN EACH OTHER'S ARMS

Visitors, who also cleaned and maintained the graves adorned with Turkish flags, prayed and read the Quran for their relatives. During the visit, earthquake victims hugged each other and shed tears around the fire they lit.

THE MOST PAINFUL IMAGE OF THE EARTHQUAKE

Mesut Hançer, the father who came to the agenda with a photo holding his daughter's hand under the rubble, was among those who arrived at his daughter's grave at night. The grieving father Hançer, who was etched in memory with the photo of him holding the hand of his 16-year-old daughter Irmak Leyla Hançer, who was trapped under the rubble in Ebrar Site, was at his daughter's grave on the third anniversary of the disaster along with his wife Gülseren Hançer.

"A PAIN THAT CANNOT BE DESCRIBED"

Hançer stated that the pain experienced has never ceased for a moment. Describing the moments he found his daughter's lifeless body under the rubble, Hançer said, "The year has come, this pain is never forgotten. This pain is not something that can be described, I lost my daughter, I lost my whole family. It is not something that can be described at all. We are currently in Ankara, we settled there after the earthquake. We came to visit our daughter because the anniversary is on February 6."