How my family escaped earthquake, Nigerian survivor speaks

Emmanuel Olaitan Johnson, a Nigerian who survived the earthquake that killed over 5,000 people has narrated how he and his family members escaped. Daily Trust had reported how a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which hit Turkey on Monday, had a devastating effect on felt in Syria, which shares border with Turkey. Speaking with BBC Pidgin, Johnson […]

Emmanuel Olaitan Johnson, a Nigerian who survived the earthquake that killed over 5,000 people has narrated how he and his family members escaped.

Daily Trust had reported how a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which hit Turkey on Monday, had a devastating effect on felt in Syria, which shares border with Turkey.

Speaking with BBC Pidgin, Johnson said he knew all was not well after he noticed the crack on the wall of his building.

“I was in my building and I noticed it was shaking but I wasn’t perturbed at first. But when I saw a crack in the wall, I grabbed my wife and children and ran out of the house.

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“As I speak to you, I and my family are now homeless,” he told BBC Pidgin.

Johnson, a Nigerian living in Gaziantep, one of the affected cities in Turkey, explained that he had just finished watching the 9/11 terrorist attack documentary before the incident began.

According to Jonhson, before my house broke down, I ran inside twice to pick shoes for myself, wife and children and also pick up our documents.

He added that the incident began around 4:17 am in the morning.

According to him, we are dressed in singlets and boxers and my children were walking in the snow with barefoot.

“While I was using my building’s staircase, I almost lost my footing while climbing because of the earthquake’s magnitude and how the building was shaking,” he said.