Queens family among over 20,000 killed in earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
NEW YORK -- The death toll from earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has climbed over 20,000, and we've learned a Queens family was tragically killed in the destruction.
"They are our family," friend Dogan Kimilli said.
Friends that are more like family -- that's how Dogan and Nurcan Kimilli describe Burak and Kimberly Marilyn Firik. They did so much together, from marathons to meals to time spent at Mimar Sinan Mosque.
"Burak, he was amazing person," Dogan Kimilli said.
"He quit his job from Amazon, and then he wanted to spend more time with his family, with the kids, and that's why he went to Turkey, to spend more time with the grandparents," Nurcan Kimilli said.
The couple and their two boys survived the first earthquake in Turkey and checked-in with Dogan with a video call.
"He said, we are OK, our family is safe, everybody is OK," he said. "The building collapsed at the second earthquake. They were on the fifth floor of a five-story building ... When they found them, they were hugging each other, whole family."
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Burak's mother also died.
We're told his father was outside and witnessed the collapse, the sole survivor of the family.
Family in Queens shared a GoFundMe page, trying to help him rebuild, writing, "My family has lost the light of our lives, and have been grief stricken since hearing this news."
The impact is felt by so many.
Burak, a Columbia University graduate, was a board member for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in New York.
"He was a loving, caring individual. He's a servant leader in our community," said Ahmed Mohamed, with CAIR-NY. "He's going to be with his family up in heaven looking down on us, and I think that, you know, he would want us to provide as much help as we can to the people who are struggling right now in Turkey and in Syria."
That's what they're doing at the mosque -- collecting essentials to ship overseas -- as one way to honor a family that touched this community.
"He was a great leader, great idol for all of us," Dogan Kimilli said.
There will be a special funeral prayer service held at the mosque Saturday afternoon for Burak Firik and his family.
We're told a funeral was held Thursday in Turkey for the family and loved ones here joined on a video call.
- To find organizations providing help and ways to give, click here.
- For a list of aid groups providing support in Syria, click here.
- For local ways to give donations via the Turkish New York Consulate, click here.