Aid worker's confusion as new quake hits Turkey

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Shaheedur Rahman
Image caption,

Shaheedur Rahman, the founder of Global Relief Trust, has been delivering aid in Turkey

A Birmingham aid worker helping with relief efforts in Turkey following the earthquake of 6 February says another quake has made his next move uncertain.

Shaheedur Rahman, from Midlands-based Global Relief Trust, was 70 miles from the epicentre of the latest incident.

He said he was planning to leave Turkey for Syria, also hit on 6 February, when more chaos came to the region.

He described how a car he was in jutted when Monday's quake struck, making him think he had "gone over a hump".

Fatalities and hundreds of injuries have been reported following the 6.4-magnitude quake in Antakya near the border with Syria.

The earlier event of 6 February - 7.8 in magnitude - killed more than 44,000 people.

It is unclear what comes next for the charity after plans to move on to Syria on Tuesday were interrupted.

"It has completely messed up our plans, we don't know where we are or what is going to happen," Mr Rahman said.

However, Mr Rahman said his team was "very strong".

Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit in Antakya, southern Turkey, on Monday

Global Relief Trust has been distributing hot meals, clothes and blankets in the Turkish province of Hatay to those who have lost their homes and family.

"We feel guilty the fact we haven't done enough," Mr Rahman said.

Turkey's disaster and emergency agency Afad said Monday's quake occurred at 20:04 local time (17:04 GMT), followed by dozens of aftershocks.

Bodies have been found in Antakya, Defne, and Samandagi, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said, urging people not to enter potentially dangerous buildings.

The country's authorities have recorded more than 6,000 aftershocks since the 6 February earthquake, but the BBC's team in the region said the latest event felt much stronger.

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