Peter O’Grady and the van normally found near Inverness Street in Camden Town

MERCY mission volunteers from Camden Town have reached the earthquake site on the Turkey and Syria border and are serving up meals for those who have been made homeless by the disaster.

Members of the Food For All team were in the city of Şanliurfa when another quake struck this week. More than 40,000 people have already died and millions have been left homeless.

The volunteers can normally be found dishing up free meals in Inverness Street, Camden Town, to those in need but have driven 4,000 miles to join the relief effort.

Peter O’Grady, who heads the charity, told the New Journal: “The earth rose up without any warning – just heaved upwards, and then down again, by about a foot. There was an absolutely terrible noise and buildings started to fall. It was over very quickly, and I doubt if there were many casualties as most of the buildings here are deserted already. They are in ruins, or unsafe. No one wants to go inside.”

The Food For All team have seen first hand how civic authorities are desperate for aid.

Mr O’Grady said: “The Lord Mayor of Şanliurfa, Zaynel Abidin Beyazgul, joyfully welcomed us with ‘what took you so long?’ He didn’t realise that we just drove more than 3,000 miles. He immediately had the police escort our vans into a protected location where the kitchen was to be located.”

Şanliurfa is near the epicentre of the earthquake and facing a humanitarian crisis, with homeless people living in tents or in the open air.

Mr O’Grady said: “The towns surrounding Şanliurfa resemble scenes from a Hollywood disaster movie.”

Working with other aid providers, the 20-strong Food For All team is feeding Turkish emergency services and have also been preparing for Syrian refugees heading into Turkey.

He said: “Syrian cooks are coming to help us to sort a menu for Syrian taste, as thousands of Syrians are crossing the border daily.”

Mr O’Grady and his fellow volunteers are currently camping in a football stadium with police officers and soldiers.

He said: “We were given as much food as we need by the government, so we are cooking and making up food parcels daily for the rescue workers, police and army plus refugees. The rescue workers are performing heroically in very hard circumstances. Each digger has three people in high-vis jackets standing with them watching for bodies.”

The language barrier has not proved to be a problem, he added: “It’s so busy and language is not necessary when giving out essentials. But we do hear so many sad stories. I was talking to a police officer today using a translator. His family survived but his brother’s family were still under the rubble.”

l To donate, visit www.foodforalluk.com/appeal