Cancer patient dies from infection he caught in barn due to lack of tents after earthquake

A cancer patient who had to live in a barn due to the lack of tents after the earthquake in Turkey’s southeastern province of Gaziantep died after he caught an infection, Mezopotamya News Agency reported.

Sehmus Kurt (58), who could not find a place to stay in the first five days after the earthquake in his village stayed in a barn with an open front. Her condition worsened after the infection and he died March 14, Kurt’s daughter Revan Gülizar Dogan said.

Dogan, explained that they stayed in the garden in the first hours of the earthquake, under rain and snow, and the family had to move to the barn when her father became ill.

"We found pallets with our own means, spread carpets, and brought my father's easy chair from home. We stayed there for the first five days. We contacted the village headman and asked for a tent, but there was none. We lit a fire inside a wheelbarrow in the barn. However, we were affected by the smoke from the fire. No tents arrived during that period. The authorities contacted us because of my father's illness. We asked them to send a tent or container. They said they would send a container, but they did not," she said.

Dogan stated that they sent her father to Hatay when his illness worsened and added:

"We took my father to the hospital in Hatay by bus. They took him to Adana for intensive care. He stayed there for 7-8 days, but he became unable to walk. When they took him to Adana, the doctors said he had caught an infection. He had jaundice because his kidneys and intestines were infected. My father was discharged from the hospital, but we still didn't have a tent at that time. Later, the Red Crescent provided us with a tent. But it was leaking, so my father couldn't come.”

Dogan stated that her mother applied to the district governorship for a container while her father was still alive, but they did not receive any positive or negative response.

"The officials told us, 'You have a sick person, we will prioritize you,' but the container still did not arrive. My parents are still staying in the tent. A few days ago, they brought us a tent that did not leak. My father passed away, and no one came to ask how we were doing.”