Video: Reporter Escapes Crashing Building In Turkey During Live Broadcast

A television reporter from Turkey escaped a collapsing building while broadcasting live from the streets of Malatya, one of the cities gravely affected by the massive earthquakes that jolted the country and neighbouring Syria. The reporter, Yuksel Akalan, works with A Haber, a major TV channel in Turkey. He was seen in his live report showing the devastated surroundings when the ground started shaking beneath his feet and several locals started running towards him. 

A video going viral on social media showed panicking people rushing to safety as an alarm sounded in the background. The reporter was also seen gestured by one man to move to the other side as he and the cameraman joined the locals to flee from the spot. Within seconds, crashing noises and shrieks were heard. When the cameraman showed to the spot they fled, which was surrounded by buildings, only plumes of smoke and dust were visible. 

The whole terrifying ordeal was captured live and shared on social media. 

Watch the video below: 

A reporter on TV runs away from a collapsing building. This was in Turkey. pic.twitter.com/c18896Aouc

— ___pete (@rear_flank) February 6, 2023

Speaking to Reuters, Mr Akalan said, "As we were heading to the rubble to (film) search and rescue efforts, there were two consecutive aftershocks with a loud noise, and the building you are seeing on my left was brought down to earth." "There was a lot of dust. A local resident is coming and he is covered in dust," he added. 

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Meanwhile, the 7.8 magnitude quake, which was followed by dozens of aftershocks in the region, has killed nearly half a million people. Rescue workers have said that they expect the death toll to climb. The World Health Organisation has also estimated that around 23 million may be affected by the massive quake in Turkey. 

Monday's earthquake is Turkey's worst disaster in decades, the country's president has said. Citing seismologists, the BBC reported that the first quake was one of the largest ever recorded in the country. 12 hours later, a second quake was triggered with a magnitude of 7.5, with its epicentre in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province.