More than 2600 dead as 7.8 magnitude quake jolts Turkiye and Syria
A powerful earthquake struck Turkiye’s southern provinces and neighboring Syria, leaving at least 1,651 people dead within Turkish borders and killing almost 1.000 people in war-torn Syria.
Rescue workers and residents frantically searched for survivors under the rubble of buildings in multiple cities on both sides of the border.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will observe seven days of national mourning for the victims of Monday’s earthquake.
“A national mourning period has been declared for seven days. Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in all our national and foreign representative offices,” Erdogan said in a tweet.
The quake, felt as far away as Cairo, was centred north of the city of Gaziantep in an area about 95km (60 miles) from the Syrian border.
Authorities said 16 structures collapsed in Sanliurfa and 34 in Osmaniye. Broadcasters TRT and Haberturk showed footage of people picking through building wreckage, moving stretchers and seeking survivors in the city of Kahramanmaras, where it was still dark.
In Syria, state-run SANA news agency reported that at least 968 people were killed and over 2,400 others were wounded.
The quake in Türkiye occurred at a depth of 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) and was followed by 145 aftershocks, including two magnitude 6.6 and 6.5 quakes that struck southeastern Gaziantep province, according to Vice President Fuat Oktay.
Rescue and relief efforts are continuing in full force and there is currently no tsunami threat that would affect Türkiye’s Eastern Mediterranean coasts, according to AFAD.
Sources : TRT & APP