A New York City family has been devastated by two earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing more than 20,000 people.

The family, who was visiting a man in the town of Elbistan, lost all their members except for the unnamed man, who is the sole survivor.

According to an interview with THOUSIF Inc. – WORLDWIDE, the man had recently undergone an open-heart procedure, and the family came to visit him.

However, the earthquakes led to the collapse of buildings, and the man spent over 12 hours digging through the rubble to try and save his family, but unfortunately, they all lost their lives.

Kimberly Firik, her husband Burak Firik, their two sons Hamza and Bilal, and Burak Firik‘s mother all died in the natural disaster.

Kimberly’s sister, Salma Salazar, described her as “very graceful” and “passionate about everything she did.”

The earthquakes were caused by a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Turkey’s central southern Gaziantep province, followed by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock and another 7.5-magnitude quake about 100 miles north of Gaziantep nine hours later.

In response to the tragedy, a GoFundMe campaign has been created by Kimberly’s father, Edwin Salazar, to support the surviving in-laws who have lost their homes and livelihoods.

Salma Salazar also wants to bring awareness to the situation and said, “there are currently still people under there.”

Get our best stuff sent straight to you! Join our WhatsApp Channel.