culture | January 06, 2026

Burak Firik and Kimberly GoFundMe raises over $21,000 as New York family is killed in earthquake during Turkey-Syria trip

35-year-old Burak Firik and his family lost their lives in Turkey-Syria’s monstrous quake. The New York City family had gone to visit a relative in Elbistan, which is in southern Turkey. A family member, whose character has not been uncovered, is the only one in the whole family to endure the quake.

The family comprised of Burak Firik, his significant other Kimberly (32), and children Bilal (1) and Hamza (2). The Firik family was on the highest level of a five-story constructing that fell soon after the seismic tremor hit. Sema Firik, Burak’s 56-year-old mother likewise died in the catastrophic event.

A GoFundMe crusade was sent off three days back, by Burak’s father by marriage to furnish his family with some monetary help. The pledge drive pointed toward raising $100,000, and had gathered around $24,500. North of 300 individuals have given to the reason.

Sovereigns occupant Burak Firik and his family were killed on their outing to Turkey in the consequential convulsion of the huge seismic tremor
On February 6, 2023, a 7.5 extent quake hit north-western Syria and south-eastern Turkey. A few hours after the primary tremor, a second one with an extent of 7.8 struck the region. As per reports, around 25,000 individuals have been killed in the tremor.

Firik’s family went to Elbistan to visit a general who had quite recently gone through open-heart medical procedure. Burak Firik and his whole family alongside the previous’ mom were killed in the consequential convulsion. A relative is the last one standing of this misfortune, and his personality hasn’t been uncovered at this point.

Kimberly’s sister, 25-year-old Salma Salazar said, The family was visiting Burka’s mom who lived on the fifth floor of the structure they were in. Burak’s dad saw the structure’s breakdown from outside and is the last one standing of the family.

As indicated by family members, the family endure the primary tremor that struck at 4.17 am nearby time on Monday. In any case, they were not expecting a second one a couple of hours after the fact. Salazar referenced that Burak Firik’s dad Nurettin Firik (60) was not in the loft when the subsequent tremor struck. Salma proceeded,

“He pivoted and saw his structure breakdown. There are no words for what he felt. The machines couldn’t get into the area. The streets were broken. It was disarray. For twelve hours, he was endlessly digging and calling out to them.”

It was accounted for that Burak Firik had not seen his dad for north of eight years, and was working in the US to bring his father there. Burak’s father by marriage Edwin Salazar began a GoFundMe mission to give monetary guide to Nurettin Firik, who lost everything in the catastrophe. The dad wrote in the pledge drive post,

“I’m requesting for benefit from my departed little girl for any assistance to help her parents in law in Elbistan. She was consistently a thoughtful soul who might place others’ necessities over her own, and I realize this is what she would need to do.” Salazar talked about Burak attempting to carry his father to the US and said,

“He was currently doing the desk work. Our family had dreams, yet presently they’re gone.”The first seismic tremor areas of strength for was such an extent that it was felt in the UK also
Burak Firik was a board individual from the New York section of CAIR, otherwise known as the Gathering on American Islamic Relations. He has been portrayed as being “extremely dynamic” locally. Salma Salazar referenced that they needed to carry the departed family to the US since they were US residents. She proceeded,
“The clinics are filled; the streets are broken. There was no getting in. They were covered with the children. It was an incredible penance, however it was everything we could manage.” The second quake that killed Burak Firik and his family struck the city very nearly nine hours after the primary 7.8 extent one hit. As indicated by Eric Handling, a geophysicist at NASA’s Stream Drive Lab,

“These were extremely enormous and strong quakes that burst as far as possible up to the surface over a long series of shortcoming sections. This produced areas of strength for incredibly over an extremely huge region that hit numerous urban communities and towns loaded with individuals.”
As per a few reports, the first quake was felt in quite a while of the UK too. A few structures have imploded and large number of individuals have lost their lives.