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35-year-old Burak Firik and his family lost their lives in Turkey-Syria’s massive earthquake. The NYC family had gone to visit a relative in Elbistan, which is in southern Turkey. A relative, whose identity has not been revealed, is the only one in the entire family to survive the earthquake.
The family consisted of Burak Firik, his wife Kimberly (32), and sons Bilal (1) and Hamza (2). The Firik family was on the top floor of a five-story building that collapsed shortly after the earthquake hit. Sema Firik, Burak’s 56-year-old mom also died in the natural disaster.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched three days back, by Burak’s father-in-law to provide his family with some financial assistance. The fundraiser aimed at raising $100,000, and had collected around $24,500. Over 300 people have donated to the cause.
Queens resident Burak Firik and his family were killed on their trip to Turkey in the aftershock of the massive earthquake
On February 6, 2023, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit north-western Syria and south-eastern Turkey. Several hours after the first earthquake, a second one with a magnitude of 7.8 struck the area. According to reports, around 25,000 people have been killed in the earthquake.
Firik's family went to Elbistan to visit a relative who had just undergone open-heart surgery. Burak Firik and his entire family along with the former’s mother were killed in the aftershock. A relative is the sole survivor of this tragedy, and his identity hasn’t been revealed yet.
Kimberly’s sister, 25-year-old Salma Salazar said,
“They survived the first one. It was bad. But they never imagined there would be another.”
According to relatives, the family survived the first earthquake that struck at 4.17 am local time on Monday. However, they were not expecting a second one a few hours later. Salazar mentioned that Burak Firik’s father Nurettin Firik (60) was not in the apartment when the second earthquake struck. Salma continued,
“He turned around and saw his building collapse. There are no words for what he felt. The machines couldn’t get into the area. The roads were broken. It was chaos. For twelve hours, he was digging and digging and calling their names.”
She further added,
“He lost his home and his family. We’re in pain and grieving.”
It was reported that Burak Firik had not seen his father for over eight years, and was working in the US to bring his dad there. Burak’s father-in-law Edwin Salazar started a GoFundMe campaign to provide financial aid to Nurettin Firik, who lost everything in the disaster. The father wrote in the fundraiser post,
“My family has lost the light of our lives, and have been grief-stricken since hearing this news. My grandchildren were only 2 years old and 1 year old, and I can’t wrap my mind around this tragedy that will forever impact our family.”
The post further stated:
“I am asking on behalf of my deceased daughter for any help to support her in-laws in Elbistan. She was always a kind soul who would put others' needs above her own, and I know this is what she would want to do.”
Salazar spoke about Burak trying to bring his dad to the US and said,
“He was in the process of doing the paperwork. Our family had dreams, but now they’re gone.”
The first earthquake was so strong that it was felt in the UK as well
Burak Firik was a board member of the New York chapter of CAIR, aka the Council on American Islamic Relations. He has been described as being “very active” in the community. Salma Salazar mentioned that they wanted to bring the deceased family to the US since they were US citizens. She continued,
“The hospitals are filled; the roads are broken. There was no getting in. They were buried with the kids. It was a great sacrifice, but it was the best we could do.”
The second earthquake that killed Burak Firik and his family struck the city almost nine hours after the first 7.8 magnitude one hit. According to Eric Fielding, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
“These were very large and powerful earthquakes that ruptured all the way up to the surface over a long series of fault segments. This generated extremely strong shaking over a very large area that hit many cities and towns full of people.”
According to several reports, the first earthquake was felt in certain areas of the UK as well. Several buildings have collapsed and thousands of people have lost their lives.
