Northern Cyprus: Kemal and Selvi Kilicdaroglu visit families of earthquake victims

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Turkey's main opposition leader and the presidential candidate of a six-party opposition bloc, visited on Thursday the families of young Turkish Cypriots who were trapped and died under the rubble of a hotel that collapsed in the earthquake on 6 February.

Grand Isias Hotel in Turkey's southeastern city of Adiyaman was reportedly allowed to operate after it had failed technical inspections and was only temporarily shut down, and 65 people were killed as the building was reduced to rubble within a matter of minutes when the quake struck.

35 of the victims were young players, coaches and managers of school volleyball teams from Northern Cyprus.

While the only search and rescue operation was carried out by teams who arrived from the island and the required equipment to lift heavy blocks could be provided only after it was too late, the Cypriot teams took back samples that have been analyzed by the Department of Civil Engineering at Eastern Mediterranean University in Northern Cyprus. The analysis concluded that river gravel and sand had been used in manufacturing the concrete used in the building and that the concrete was of extremely low quality.

The owner of the hotel is a senior member of Turkish Youth Foundation (TUGVA), a top official of which is Bilal Erdogan, the son of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Kilicdaroglu posted a message on Twitter before he visited, with wife Selvi Kilicdaroglu, the families of victims in Northern Cyprus:

"The children of our little homeland fell victim to murder in Adiyaman's Isias Hotel. We have just arrived in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, me and Selvi Kilicdaroglu, to meet with the families. We will not remain silent to the little homeland's cry. Today will be one of the hardest days of our lives, both for me and for Selvi."

Kemal and Selvi Kilicdaroglu visited Icme, Altak, Arkar, Ozberkman, Cevik, Karakaya, Konuklu, Yigitturk, İs, Dagli, Cetintas, Kilic and Cetiner families and expressed their condolences.