Prominent Syrian journalist, several family members die in Turkey-Syria earthquake

Prominent Syrian journalist Yaman Khatib passed away alongside several members of his family after the deadly earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, according to reports.

Khatib passed away under the rubble of his home in Hatay, Turkey alongside around 12 family members including his parents and siblings after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated the region, according to Al Jazeera.

Reports initially suggested that Khatib and his family survived the earthquake, but this news was confirmed false by his brother, Fadi al-Halabi, with whom he made the award-winning 2020 film 'In the Idlib Trap'.

"Here I buried a part of my life, my soul, my heart and my hope… here is the grave of my beloved Yaman, and what a shame for anyone who did not know Yaman and how much he lost, at the same time he’s lucky he did not have to live with the pain of his losses," al-Halabi wrote.

Halabi listed the losses the family suffered, explaining that Khatib’s wife Samah was buried next to him, alongside their children. The pair’s younger brother was also killed.

"We have recovered my father’s body. We are waiting for my mother’s body and for the body of Timo, Yaman’s youngest son," Halabi explained.

More than 35,000 people have been killed in the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, as humanitarian group World Vision warned that full recovery could take more than a generation. 

Officials and medics said 31,643 people had died in Turkey and 3,581 in Syria from last Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the confirmed total to 35,224.