Turkey earthquake: 'I said goodbye in my heart, I was ready to die'

Leena Salhoul from Nottinghamshire said she woke up to the ceiling in her hotel room cracking above her head

An aid worker caught up in the earthquakes in Turkey said she was "ready to die" as tremors rocked the hotel she was staying in.

Leena Sahloul, from Gamston, Nottinghamshire "said her goodbyes" when the earthquake hit.

The 25-year-old has now made it safely to Istanbul but said her father was still in the aftershock zone.

Speaking to the BBC, she said: "I didn't think I was going to make it out alive."

More than 20,000 people are now known to have died after Monday's earthquakes in southern Turkey and northern Syria.

Six UN lorries carrying aid have now crossed the border from Turkey into Syria - the first international help people there have had.

'Ceiling cracking above me'

Leena said she arrived in the Turkish city of Gaziantep the day before the earthquake hit and was planning to travel to Syria to visit some humanitarian projects.

She works for a medical organisation and was in the country to train teams in communications. Her father runs a Syrian aid charity.

The 25-year-old was asleep when the earthquake hit and said she opened her eyes to find to the hotel room shaking around her.

"I could hear the ceiling cracking above me - I didn't think I was going to make it out alive. I said my goodbyes in my heart and I was ready to die.

"But thankfully it stopped and I managed to find my phone and call my dad. He said it was an earthquake and told me to get my passport."

Diggers have been used to sift through the rubble

Leena grabbed some belongings and waited on the snow-covered street outside before being told she could shelter in the hotel lobby.

When she was on her way out of Gaziantep, she said buildings were still tumbling down as she tried to find some food.

However, at the few places that were still open, there were "thousands" in the queue, she said.

She said she managed to get on a flight to Istanbul, describing it as a "one in a million chance".

She plans to head back to Nottingham when the blizzard clears.

Reflecting on the events, she said: "It's like my life flashed before my eyes, it's just devastating.

"I'd like to appeal for everyone's support and to also stand with the people of Syria."