Chilling photo of Turkish father refusing to let go of dead daughter shakes internet

Mesuts's daughter Irnak, lies under the heavy boulders of their broken house as her father refuses to let go of her hand, overwhelmed with pain, oblivious to the destruction around. As per the reports, his young daughter was asleep when the first pre-dawn tremor struck their homeland on Monday.

Kahramanmaras (Turkey):As the recent earthquake in Turkey continues to tatter thousands of families, a photograph of a man refusing to let go of his dead daughter's hand has shaken many across the world. The heart-wrenching picture of Mesut Hancer -- sitting alone in the freezing cold, surrounded by remnants of his destroyed home, with eyes lost in overwhelming grief -- is spine-chilling, to say the least.

Mesuts's daughter Irnak, lies under the heavy boulders of their broken house as her father refuses to let go of her hand, overwhelmed with pain, oblivious to the destruction around. As per the reports, his young daughter was asleep when the first pre-dawn tremor struck their homeland on Monday.

With feeble attempts from the rescue team to save the lives of those entrapped in what came to be known as the most powerful earthquake to strike Turkey and Syria in nearly a century, Imrak was unfortunate enough to have died -- but not more than her inconsolable father whom she left behind.

The earthquake killed nearly 20,000 people, but also heinously murdered the hopes of the ones left behind with nothing more than the torn bodies of their loved ones lying around. The rubble of buildings that once encompassed their lives lies shattered, only lending them a hurtful reminiscence into their better pasts.

The photograph, reportedly captured by the Agence France Presse (AFP) veteran photographer Adem Altan, took no time to shake the internet as it gave an insight into the painful ground situation through the powerful photo of a silently mourning father.

As told by Altan, he captured the photo from a distance of 200 feet so as to not intrude into a father's grief. What happened next was not expected by the photographer. Instead of shooing him away, the grieving man called the photographer. "Take pictures of my child," Hancer said in a low, trembling voice.

"I was speechless," said Altan as he remembered the sensitive moment. "The father wanted the world to see his and his nation's grief. And it did," he added, as reported by AFP. The photograph appeared on the front pages of major newspapers across the world, no sooner than it went crazily viral on social media, shared hundreds of thousands of times online.

"The photo made me immensely sad. I kept repeating to myself, 'what immense pain'. I couldn't stop myself from crying," Altan recalled. "I asked Hancer his name and then his daughter's name. He was speaking with difficulty, so I could not talk to him too much," he added.

Altan has received thousands of messages from people worldwide, want to offer support. "Many told me they will never forget this image," he said. (With Agency Inputs)