Mesut Hancer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter, Irmak, who died in the earthquake in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, close to the earthquake’s epicentre.
On Tuesday, AFP’s Adem Atlan photographed father Mesut Hancer holding the hand of his daughter Irmak, 15, after she died beneath rubble in Kahramanmaras, near the earthquake’s epicenter. The girl’s hand can be seen stretched out from underneath concrete slabs that collapsed on top of her during the fatal quake.
His daughter, Irmak, was dead. But he refused to let her go, caressing the fingers peeking out from a mattress the girl was asleep on when the first pre-dawn tremor struck on Monday.
“Take pictures of my child,” Mr Hancer called in a low, trembling voice.
The father wanted the world to see his — and his nation’s — grief. And it did.
