Before and after the earthquake in Turkey seen from the sky 1:04
(CNN Spanish) --
Pedro Nieves, a volleyball player for the Puerto Rican national team, who is in Turkey, described to CNN on Tuesday how he experienced the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake registered Monday.
He is in this country with his girlfriend, also a volleyball player Brittany Abercrombie, a player in a professional league in Turkey.
Nieves, a native of Bayamón, a municipality in the north of the island, explained that at the time of the earthquake he was in his apartment, located on the seventh floor in the city of Gaziantep.
“I proceeded to open the door of the apartment, to find out if everything was okay.
If the structure like this above was all right, everything looked good.
The neighbors were crying.
Everyone was running, people running up the stairs.
It was complete chaos," Nieves said via video call with CNN.
Holding on to hope: Father holds daughter's hand as they try to rescue her from rubble in Turkey
Nieves explained that he was sleeping at the time of the earthquake, and that he felt the strong movement in his room and saw some lamps move.
She adds that there were several tremors that she perceived.
Once she calmed down, she points out, she proceeded to take a backpack with some of her belongings and together with other people she went down the stairs to access the outside.
Once outside the building, she indicates that she found many people crying and looking for help.
The volleyball player said that on Tuesday he and his girlfriend arrived in Ankara, where they were accommodated in a hotel thanks to the help of the Turkish volleyball federation.
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"We are sure;
I am here with my girlfriend, we are happy (sic).
My parents are a little calmer now;
my family is a little calmer, my friends.
I have received numbers and a multitude of messages from people supporting”.
Turkey, why did more than 5,000 buildings collapse after the earthquake?
0:42
How life continues in Turkey after the earthquake
The Puerto Rican indicated that during the trip he made from Gaziantep to Ankara he was able to observe many vehicles and rescue teams that were heading to the affected cities, and that in the place where he is right now there is quite normality with electricity, water and internet services. .
Nieves indicates that he has no plans to leave Turkey.
“Right now, I plan not to leave my girlfriend alone.
The decision that she is going to make, I am going to support her.
She has plans to continue in the team, since she made a commitment and the league is going to continue, in that region, that area is a little calmer.
Everything is fine over there.
On Friday we understand that we are going to take a plane so that we can move to another part of the city and then we can be in a better place,” said Nieves.
Authorities have confirmed that thousands of buildings have collapsed in Turkey and Syria, and that the quake is one of the strongest in the region in more than 100 years.
More than 12,000 people died and tens of thousands were injured.
earthquake
