‘We’ll get through this trauma by hugging each other’ Turkish firefighter adopts cat he rescued from ruins of collapsed apartment block 129 hours after devastating earthquake
- Firefighter Ali Cakas, 33, recovered Enkaz from rubble in Nurdagi, Turkey
- The black-and-white cat refused to leave his side after being given food
A firefighter in Turkey has touched the hearts of animal lovers around the world by adopting a cat he pulled from the ruins of a collapsed apartment block.
Ali Cakas, 33, recovered the black and white cat after it had been trapped for 129 hours following Turkey’s devastating earthquake.
The grateful cat refused to leave his side after being given food and water as Ali continued to hunt for survivors in Nurdagi in the Gaziantep province of eastern Turkey.
Ali and his colleagues named it Enkaz – the Turkish word for debris – and treated it as their mascot in the hope that its owner might turn up.
Heartwarming pictures showed Enkaz happily sitting on Ali’s shoulder during a break from his team’s rescue work.
A firefighter in Turkey has touched the hearts of animal lovers around the world by adopting a cat he pulled from the ruins of a collapsed apartment block
Ali Cakas, 33, recovered the black and white cat after it had been trapped for 129 hours following Turkey’s devastating earthquake
The story went around the world after being tweeted by Ukrainian influencer Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the war torn country’s Minister of Internal Affairs, who has 262,000 followers.
Footage of Enkaz and Ali amid the rubble of Nurdagi has now been viewed more than 11 million times on Twitter alone.
When nobody claimed Enkaz, it became clear that the cat’s owner had died in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which struck Turkey and Syria on Monday last week.
As hopes of finding any more human survivors dwindled, Ali took Enkaz with him when he returned to his home in the city of Mardin, around 250 miles away from Nurdagi.
Enkaz is now eating with him and his family as they gather around a rug in their home to eat meals.
Ali who used to ride for Turkey’s national mountain bike team, has set up an Instagram account enkaz.tr which now has more than 11,000 followers, touched by the story of the cat’s survival against the odds.
Social media users from as far away as the UK, the US, Chile and Argentina today praised Ali for taking in Enkaz as the official death toll from the earthquake and its aftershocks in Turkey and Syria went over 46,000.
The final death toll is expected to be far higher as more bodies are pulled from the ruins of homes across the region.
Ali said that his family now sleeps with Enkaz at night – as the two bonded over what they had experienced
The grateful cat refused to leave his side after being given food and water as Ali continued to hunt for survivors in Nurdagi in the Gaziantep province
Ali believes that Enkaz has ‘sad eyes’ after he lost his family in the earthquake in Turkey
Ali said ‘he has never fallen from my lap from the day he arrived’ as they were pictured together in the doorway of his home
Ali and his colleagues named the cat Enkaz – the Turkish word for debris – and treated it as their mascot
Ali said that he and Enkaz ‘formed a nice bond’ at the scene and he vowed that he would not leave his new friend behind
Ali Cakas, fireman in the Mardin Municipality Fire Department, adopts and brings home ‘Enkaz’
One Instagram user said: ‘This cat is amazing… he’s got a safe and stable rock to stand on (and snuggle up to).’
An Instagram fan from France added: ‘All the best to both of you! Cats know who good humans are, you were chosen for a reason. I hope the sadness in Enkaz’s eyes will disappear. Warm greetings from France.’
Speaking of his devotion to his new pet, Ali said: ‘My mother, father, brothers and sisters are supporting me. We see the cat as a member of the family.
‘The cat didn’t break up with me, nor did I break up with him. I now take care of him in my house. We sleep with him.
‘He has never fallen from my lap since the day he arrived. We bonded quickly. We both had a tough time. We’ll get through this trauma by hugging each other.’
Ali told how he and his colleagues from the Mardin Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department had been sent to Nurdagi within hours of the earthquake.
His team focused on searching for survivors in the Akan apartment block in the town’s Atatürk district, and pulled five people out of the rubble.
They also rescued three budgies in their cages and Enkaz as well as another cat in separate rescues.
The other cat was quickly reunited with its owner who had managed to escape before the building collapsed.
Ali said that he and Enkaz ‘formed a nice bond’ at the scene and he vowed that he would not leave his new friend behind when his rescue mission was completed.
Describing Enkaz as ‘smart, beautiful and docile’, he added that he also detected ‘sadness’ in his new pet’s eyes over the loss of his old home and owner.
Ali added: ‘He’s been sad since the day she arrived… Animals also have feelings. In this sense, I try to do everything I can.’
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