Parents of Cyprus school volleyball team players killed in Turkish quake testify against hotel owner

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A hotel owner and 10 other people are standing trial accused of negligence over the deaths of 72 people, including players from a school volleyball team in breakaway northern Cyprus, who perished when their hotel crumbled during a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey last year. The trial is the first relating to the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that left more than 50,000 dead in Turkey. Failure to implement building codes has been blamed for the extent of the destruction. One parent who testified in the trial on Thursday described how hopes of finding his two children alive quickly turned to despair. The owner of the hotel has denied any wrongdoing.