Lebanese Civil Defense volunteers, the Cedars-11 team, recovered the body of Lebanese Elias Haddad and a young girl from the ruins of a hotel in Antakya, Turkey, after it was destroyed by an earthquake.
The team, who traveled to Turkey on their own initiative, are still searching for the body of another Lebanese man, Mohammed al-Mohammed, who is believed to still be under the rubble.
Elias Haddad was found dead in the same hotel room of the Ozhan Hotel as his friend Bassel Habkouk, who was rescued two days prior to the recovery of Haddad’s body.
According to Habkouk, they were trying to escape through the stairs when the collapse occurred.
On February 6th, 2023, two devastating earthquakes struck Turkey with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5. The earthquakes caused widespread damage in both Turkey and Syria, resulting in tens of thousands of fatalities and many injuries. The impact was felt across Lebanon, with shockwaves reaching as high as 5 magnitude and subsequent tremors.
On February 20th, 2023, another two earthquakes hit southern Turkey, with a magnitude of 6.4 and 5.8 just minutes apart.
