‘Everything around me was collapsing’: motorcyclist Andre Sousa talks about moments of ‘panic’ in Turkey

André Souza of Portugal, who is touring the world on a minibike to set the record, is in Turkey and fled this morning due to a local earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, reporting “much destruction and panic”.

Speaking to Lusa, the 27-year-old man from Oliveira de Azemeis said he arrived in Turkey from Iraq last week and stayed in a hotel seven kilometers from Gaziantep, the epicenter of the earthquake. in anticipation of easing weather conditions associated with the snowfall of recent days to continue the trip.

Today, at about 4:15 local time, he woke up from “strong shaking” and ran from the second floor to the street.

“Because I already experienced the earthquake in Greece in 2020 and another one in Guatemala last year, this time I immediately understood what was happening and did not hesitate, thinking it was a car collision or something like that. This earthquake all around me rained down – water bottles, TVs, plaster on the walls, with bouncing stones – and I ran out into the street, only in shorts, socks and a T-shirt, even with a negative temperature, ”he describes.

The exit was made with some difficulty, because, since “the earthquake lasted more than a minute in a row, the building continued to shake,” and on the way to unobstructed space, “coatings fell everywhere – brick, porcelain, glass.” , etc.”.

The motorcyclist remained out in the open for about an hour, always “without clothes and shoes”, without much support and information.

“Everyone was in a panic, and since they are Muslims here, you could only hear people shouting “Allah Akbar”, like “God help us.” I couldn’t find out more because no one speaks English and everyone was very upset. , in a real panic, ”says.

André Souza warmed himself with fires made outside by locals using paper and a few pieces of wood, and returned to the hotel when electricity, telephone and internet were restored.

However, he has felt several tremors from the earthquake, but ensures that they are “unmatched in strength”, so he considers himself safer in the hotel. He is currently awaiting instructions to donate blood, as “the authorities have already indicated that they need it,” given the thousands of wounded identified in the region, of whom more than 1,500 died in Turkey and Syria, and were also affected by the same earthquake.

“It is useless to leave the hotel, because we will only interfere,” Andre Souza defends. “The streets are closed, you can’t go anywhere, and the police are asking people to stay at home or in public parks so that nothing else interferes, so that ambulances and emergency services can move,” he concludes.

André Souza started this journey in 2020 to get a Guinness World Record as the first citizen of the world to circumnavigate the world in a 75cm tall Honda Monkey 125 with a nine horsepower engine. So far, it has covered 70 countries and over 60,000 kilometers.