Turkish people stepped over numerous bodies in stadiums and parking lots on Wednesday, handling the blankets covering the faces of the deceased with care as they attempted to recognize lost loved ones following a catastrophic, once-in-a-lifetime earthquake in the area.
Nada, a Syrian woman, and her Turkish husband asked a staff member how best to find their niece and aunt among the more than 100 bodies lined up in the parking lot of the Hatay Research Hospital near the southern city of Antakya.
"Check one by one," they were told.
"My wife doesn't speak Turkish, and I can't see very well," said the husband, who did not give a name. "We have to check all the faces. We need help."
Many of those killed in the tremor – which struck in the dead of night on Monday – were wrapped in body bags, blankets or tarpaulin, awaiting relatives or friends to find them and take them from the field hospital.
They were placed in tents or on the pavement outside the 1,130-bed hospital, built in 2016, which was too damaged by the earthquake to house them.
Some had tags with identifying information; some did not. Relatives who locate loved ones are issued a death certificate and burial permission from the on-site prosecutor, then they remove them in their vehicles.
One woman who could not find her sister yelled: "My God, look how we are; we will be thankful if we find the dead bodies of our people."
To the north in Kahramanmaraş, near the earthquake epicenter, at least another 100 bodies were assembled on the floor of an athletics stadium, where residents sought to identify them.
One woman fell to her knees sobbing. Along the red-padded wall and underneath rows of empty spectator seating, three smaller bodies were wrapped in sheets on child-sized stretchers.
According to a statement made by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the unidentified bodies of those who lost their lives in the earthquake will be buried within 24 hours after their fingerprints are recorded and DNA samples are taken.
Accordingly, examinations of the bodies will be carried out by the provincial or district prosecutors' offices. The examinations will be conducted where the bodies are located, and the unidentified remains will not be sent to the surrounding provinces and districts, the statement also said.
The burial procedures will be carried out in line with religious obligations.
