Couple killed in Turkey earthquake as brother finds them 'holding each other on their bed'

A couple from Florida was found dead, holding each other’s hands in their bed in an apartment in the coastal town of Iskenderun in Turkey after the devastating earthquakes struck. The couple are among the more than 30,000 victims who have died in the horrific earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria last week.

Hailing from Orlando, Alex and Veronika Ilgin were found dead and holding each other in their bed.

Their building, along with countless others, collapsed when the earthquake struck on February 6.

According to their friends, Alex and Veronika were recently married and were visiting family in his homeland Turkey.

The friends claimed that the entire family suffered “dozens” of losses, leaving “barely anyone left”.

The couple had relocated to Turkey in late January to begin in vitro fertilization and start a family.

They were found beneath a slab of concrete.

Alex’s best friend Vasilious Poulos told WESH 2: “I don’t know what this feeling is, so I’m just waiting for the freight train to hit me.

“Alex’s brother with the rescue team found him under the rubble and confirmed they were still in bed, confirmed they were holding each other in bed with concrete on top.

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On a GoFundMe page set up for the family and for earthquake relief efforts, Poulos described Alex as a very charitable person.

He wrote: “If Alex were here, I cannot imagine the lengths he would be going to to help his family, friends, neighbors, and community.”

Meanwhile, the death toll across Turkey and Syria following Monday’s catastrophic earthquake has reached at least 34,179 on Sunday.

The death toll in Turkey has reached 29,605, Turkish Emergency Coordination Center SAKOM said Sunday.

The confirmed death toll in Syria is 4,574.

That number includes more than 3,160 in opposition-held parts of northwestern Syria, according to the health ministry of the Salvation Government governance authority.

The Syrian death toll also includes 1,414 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria, according to state news agency SANA.

source: express.co.uk