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BBC News Online helps trace missing

When the family that runs an Internet centre in North Cyprus managed to contact a relative's mother, sister and close friend - all unhurt - they decided to extend their services to others.

They mailed BBC News Online with the offer of help, and as a result had some 257 requests for help from people unable to get in touch with loved ones.

So far they have traced 182 people who were uninjured, although two more are seriously ill in hospital and one person is believed killed in the quake. The death toll currently stands at over 7,000.

"We didn't think there would be people online in Istanbul because the power was down, but we found people using their laptops and mobile phones," said David Thomas, of the Internet Education Centre.

"We gave the mother's number to a contact who found her within one hour. It was a very good feeling - then we thought, let's do it for others as well."

They stayed up until midnight on Wednesday, working on back-up power.

"A lot of the messages we have had are very sad - it's hard to keep our composure," added David, who still hopes to go to medical school in Istanbul later this year.

A number of people who have e-mailed News Online fearing the worst have since contacted us to say their friends and relatives have been found alive and well.

Rachel Murray, of London, was delighted after her brother Phil, in Izmit, was reunited with his wife Dianne and three young children on the Black Sea Coast.

Keith Norton wrote searching for news of his father, who has since been found alive and only slightly injured when his hotel in Adipazari collapsed - although two of his father's colleagues died instantly.

Communications hampered

Requests for help have come from as far afield as Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Japan and Malaysia, as overseas communications have been difficult following the disaster.

More and more people have e-mailed offering to make telephone calls on behalf of anxious overseas relatives.

Malcolm Ellery, in Turkey, has managed to contact some 10-15 people directly - even though he had to try 50 times to get through to one woman.

The BBC News Internet site has also been used to post messages containing the names of those who are missing and requesting information about certain areas.

There has been a steady response to these messages, with offers of help from those in neighbouring areas and information is being e-mailed in and posted on the site.

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