The dead are wrapped up in the very blankets they lay under as the earthquake did its merciless worst. There is no time for more than basic attention to be given to the 12,000 fallen in Turkey and Syria as the search for life amid the earthquake carnage continues.
So the corpses line the streets. They are not unloved, but there is no time to bury the dead and time is running out to find the living.
Devastated residents weep and cling to one another as the search for survivors grows ever more desperate in the Turkish town of Nurdagi, around 30 miles from the earthquake’s epicentre.
One distraught woman searching for relatives in the wreckage of a collapsed block of flats wails at the top of her voice, her anguished cries reflecting the pain of a shocked and grieving nation.
Tragedy is everywhere amid the ruins of smashed towns and villages. Those properties still standing have been rendered totally unliveable, with deep fissures running through their walls.
Amid the chaos there are heroes like Gokhan Dikki, a former soldier. Like so many others, he has not given up hope.
He explains how searchers are working day and night, tunnelling into the rubble with their hands and calling out in the hope they can reach any survivors.
He says: “Everyone is quiet and we listen. If we find people, first we touch the body to see if it is cold or warm, dead or alive. If the person has died we take them out quickly, but if they are alive we are very careful.”
Together we climb the wreckage of a six-storey block flattened by Monday’s earthquakes.
At least 14 people have been found dead here, including a two-year-old child, Gokhan says. He carries a family photo album he had found which he still hopes to reunite with its owner.
Across the town – with a population of 40,000 – buildings look as though they had been sliced open, curtains flapping in the breeze after outer walls collapsed.
Furkan Becki barely escaped alive from the home he shared with his parents and sister Beyza.
The 24-year-old describes how he dropped to the floor and shielded his head with his hands as their first-floor flat shook violently.
When the quaking subsided, their building was sloping to one side. The family broke down doors and jumped from the balcony.
Furkan ran wearing only his socks to help free family members trapped in the ruins of their nearby house. His feet and one hand are now wrapped in bandages.
He tells us: “After the earthquake I waited for help, then we opened a tunnel and seven people were taken out. They went to Gaziantep’s hospital because ours is not functioning.”
Near the ruins of another six- storey building, dust clouds engulf onlookers waiting for news of loved ones. Some wipe away tears while others watch in silence.
Among them is Erhan Zobu, 33. He had travelled from Mersin with his neighbours, whose two sisters were thought to be buried.
He says: “When I arrived, there were three bodies on the pavement. They just took out three more.” Asked if he believed the sisters were still alive, he tells us: “We are praying, but I don’t think so.”
As hopes of finding more survivors fade, thoughts are turning to the immense recovery effort needed to rebuild the town.
People are living in their cars or tents provided by the government. Some huddle around bonfires to keep warm.
Bilal Sahin, 33, says his home is still standing but so damaged it is not safe. He has moved to a tent with his parents.
He says: “Last night it was freezing, we sat in the car using the air conditioning.
“In the tents we don’t have power.
“Some people have beds but there isn’t enough help yet.”
Food and water is being handed out but a lack of toilets and sanitation means people are washing where they can in ruined buildings, increasing the risk of disease.
Many survivors are wearing pyjamas after fleeing their homes.
A sea of outstretched hands quickly forms around an aid truck arriving with supplies of nappies, bedding and clothes for infants.
Bilal says the post-apocalyptic situation has left many feeling “like ghosts”. He says: “We’ve never seen anything like this. People are screaming, losing their lives.
Millions of others across southern Turkey and northern Syria are living a similar nightmare.