SINGAPORE: It was past 4am in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa when Singaporean Tajjlee Rahim and his sister were awoken by what they thought was a snowstorm.
There had been a forecast for heavy snow on Monday (Feb 6) but when the tremors continued, Mr Tajjlee knew something was wrong.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake had struck central Turkey in the darkness of a winter morning, the worst to hit the country this century. The epicentre was near the city of Gaziantep, about 130km away from Sanliurfa.
More than 1,400 people in Turkey and neighbouring Syria have been killed.
Mr Tajjlee, who was on holiday in Turkey, told CNA that 16 buildings collapsed in Sanliurfa, three of which were just 2km from their hotel.
They evacuated from the eighth floor of the hotel building, which suffered minor cracks and some shattered glass, according to the 35-year-old.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid because it is my first time experiencing this disaster,” his sister Sriwayuni Rahim told CNA.
She added that the siblings hugged each other, tried to “be strong for one another” and think positive thoughts throughout the ordeal.
The initial quake was followed by dozens of aftershocks, including a 7.5-magnitude tremor that jolted the region amid search and rescue work on Monday afternoon.