Turkey Earthquake: Australian found alive and safe, two more still missing

An Australian caught up in the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake disaster has been found alive and safe while two others remain missing.

Foreign Affairs minister Penny Wong announced Friday an Australian man is accounted for and safe, a day after confirmation Sydney man, Can ‘John’ Pahali’, had died in the disaster.

But two remain still unaccounted as the death toll from the disaster rises past 21,000.

One of them is Melbourne man Suat Bayram, 69, who was in Turkey visiting his nephew and his nephew’s wife when the earthquake hit on Monday.

Imren Bayram has not heard from her father since. 

‘We’re desperate, we’re desperate to find my dad,’ she told Nine News.

‘He’s the centre of our family. We just want him home, we just want him safe.’ 

The Department of Foreign Affairs is supporting around 50 Australians and their families caught up in the earthqake disaster.

One of three Australians unaccounted for was confirmed as safe on Friday 

‘I am pleased I can say one of those Australians in the region is accounted for and safe,’ Ms Wong told reporters in Adelaide. 

‘Two people are unaccounted for. One person has been reported as having died in these earthquakes.

Two Australians are still unaccounted for, One of them is Melbourne man Suat Bayram (pictured), 69, who was in Turkey visiting family when the earthquake hit

‘I extend my condolences, and as a consequence of those reports, I extend to all those waiting for news my sympathy and expression of support. Not just personal but on behalf of the government of Australia.’

Mr Pahali, from Glebe in Sydney’s inner-west, was on holiday in Hatay when the 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes hit the region.

His nephew immediately travelled to Turkey to try and find him, however was confirmed to have died on Thursday. 

‘He has had a wonderful six months reuniting with his large family in different areas of his country. He is now with his beloved Jesus,’ a Facebook post to the Glebe community forum read.

One of Mr Pahali’s relatives flew into the area from Germany, finding his body among the rubble and retrieving it. 

Senate Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong (right), announced the man’s safety, while two Aussies are still unaccounted for in the mayhem 

An Australian search and rescue effort has been assembled to be sent to affected areas as part of a colossal international aid effort.

The effort includes 72 personnel and 22 tonnes of equipment including first aid supplies, tools, cameras, and specialised listening equipment to help locate survivors.  

They departed from the RAAF base at Richmond in Sydney’s north-west on Friday morning.

The NSW government has also allocated an additional $1 million to the search and rescue mission. 

Meanwhile, survivors in the worst hit areas are beginning to lose hope for their missing loved ones as miraculous accounts of survival start to become more unlikely.

The announcement of the man’s safety comes one day after the death of Sydney man, Can ‘John’ Pahali (pictured), who was holidaying in Turkey when the earthquake hit

While some areas have stuck to pick axes, shovels and jackhammers to carefully manoeuvre through rubble in a hope to find survivors, others have turned to demolishing unsteady buildings. 

Tens of thousands have lost their homes during a cold winter where temperatures drop to around 0C, with some calling for for more aid from the weather.

‘Especially in this cold, it is not possible to live here,’ One survivor, Ahmet Tokgoz, said. 

‘If people haven’t died from being stuck under the rubble, they’ll die from the cold.’

The death toll in Turkey and Syria has passed 21,000.