Turkey earthquake: 'My parents fled as home collapsed around them'

A woman whose parents managed to escape as the walls of their home collapsed in front of them when an earthquake struck said the situation was heartbreaking.

More than 11,000 people have been killed and thousands injured when the earthquake struck south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, on Monday.

Seyma Yapar, from Sale, Greater Manchester, said her parents' home in Belen had been destroyed.

She said they had asked her to pray for them and send help.

"The only thing they say is 'we're OK, don't worry about us, stay strong, you can't come here because there is no place to stay, you can't do anything, just pray for us or try to send some help'," she said.

"They don't talk much about their feelings or emotions.

"They don't even want to talk about the house which is gone.

"So I'm sure they're traumatised, but they don't want to talk about it."

The earthquake, which hit near the town of Gaziantep, was closely followed by numerous aftershocks including one quake which was almost as large as the first.

The death toll is expected to rise further in the coming days.

Ms Yapar, whose childhood friend, aged 34, died in the quake, said her parents Firdevs and Yahya had lived in their neighbour's car for a day before travelling to the closest city to find shelter.

"I've been feeling guilty," she told BBC North West Tonight.

"How come I can eat my food in my comfy house in my warm house and they're out there," she said.

"So I don't have the right to eat. I feel so guilty about it.

"Even like sleeping. I shouldn't sleep. I don't have the right to sleep.

"Watching the news or reading things on social media breaks my heart."

Volkan Esengul, general manager at Venus Foods Ltd in Manchester, has also faced an anxious wait for answers along with many of his colleagues.

The majority of workers at the family-run wholesalers have family in Turkey.

"If you ask anyone they've lost a dad or a cousin or a relative. No-one's not affected," he said.

"If you've not heard by now you're not in a good situation.

"The very best you can hope for is 'my family's alive but their house has gone'. And that's good news for most people."

Mr Esengul said his grandmother, who lives in Turkey, was in the UK when the earthquake struck.

"[Her home] is rubble and it's finished," he said.

"She was visiting family in London and if she hadn't been - I don't want to think about it."

Mr Esengul is among the many desperate to help with the company arranging a truck to deliver food, water and toiletries to Turkey.

North West Turkish Community Association is also among the organisations who have set up collections to help the relief effort with a drop-off point set up in Trafford Park.

Within hours, essential items such as blankets and clothing had been donated by those wanting to help including Naime Ozdemir.

"We are trying our best to help our country," she said.

"It's horrifying. It's so sad."

Serkan Senol, from the association, urged the public to help support those in desperate need, adding "this could happen to anyone in the world".

Frontline medical aid charity UK-Med, which is based in Stockport, has already sent a five-strong team of medics to help.

They are currently organising medical supplies to send out including equipment to set up a field hospital.

Gemma Blakey, acting head of logistics at UK-Med, said it was "straight into action stations" as soon as they heard about the earthquake.

"This is what we trained and prepare for," she said.

Aid charity Human Appeal, which is based in Manchester but has offices in Turkey, is also helping with the relief efforts.

Zaheer Khan, from the charity, said it was not just about saving people from the rubble but it was about helping those who have lost everything.

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