A grief-stricken father’s Facebook farewell to the three children he lost in the Syrian earthquake has touched the hearts of thousands.

Youngsters Ruba, Aya, and Salahaddin died in the 7.8-magnitude when their home collapsed on top of the family in Idlib.

Now their father, Kamal Sandeh has posted a moving social media tribute to their children.

Mum Reem Saeed told local media how she cradled Ruba in her arms as she died under tonnes of rubble.

She said: “The electricity went out and we became trapped under the rubble, and it was night, rain and terror, and we watched, and then another earthquake occurred and we started shouting ‘Lord, save our children’.

“We started shouting for someone to help us, I felt like I was suffocating, and I couldn’t breathe, and the air was all dust and smoke and the air was very cold.

“I felt my daughter’s weak pulse, and after that I only felt that she was sniffing and dying in my arms, and I could not do anything for her.”

Reem said rescuers eventually cleared the family home but when she arrived at hospital she was heartbroken to learn all the children had died.

She added: “We lost our money and everything, but it is worth nothing after what happened to my children.”

Devastated father, Kamal Sandeh, shared his sadness through a Facebook post.

In his message that was obtained by Newsflash, Kamal wrote: “I don’t know if you were a dream which I woke up from, or if I am in a dream today from which I hope to get out of to meet you.

“My children, Ruba, Salahaddin and Aya. The greatest gifts of the Lord to me, I gave them back and bestowed them yesterday [6th Feb], so he has all my praise and complete satisfaction with his decree.”

Kamal continued: “Today, people are consoling me that you have become birds in paradise, and today, by God, I am more yearning for them, as I have seen a part of them in my world, and they are those birds.

“God bless you, and may the Father forgive me if I have fallen short of your truth, and intercede for me with the Lord.”

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Authority has said that 31,643 people are dead and more than 80,000 injured in the country.

The total death toll in Turkey and Syria now exceeds 35,000 people, with the latest figures indicating more than 3,574 people dead in Syria.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck early on the morning of 6th February in southern Turkey, devastating the south of the country and northern Syria, has been described by Turkish President Erdogan as one of the worst disasters in decades.

A second earthquake of 7.6 magnitude hit the same region again at 11:24am local time on 6th February, causing even more damage.