Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: 6 rescued alive as death toll hits 21, 500

Admin l Friday, February 10, 2023

INSTANBUL, Turkey – Six people have been rescued alive  amidst extreme cold from the rubble of the two earthquakes that rocked 10 cities in Turkey and  four governorates in Syria with a magnitude of 7.8 and 7.5, the first taking place in Turkey, followed by another in Syria later in the day.

The six individuals were rescued alive four days after the earthquakes described as the worst in a decade by the United Nations.

So far, over 21, 500 people have been pulled out lifeless from the rubbles,  18, 342 in Turkey and about 3, 377 in Syria.

Rescue operation is still ongoing but slow due to non-arrival of heavy equipment needed to facilitate the rescue operation. The World Bank has promised $1.78bn to Turkey in relief and recovery assistance.

President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has put the death toll at 16,546  adding that 66,132 were injured and being attended to in health facilities.

“I once again wish Allah’s mercy upon all our citizens who lost their lives, and a speedy recovery to all our citizens in the 10 earthquake-hit provinces, and extend my condolences to all their relatives.”

“Our ministries, institutions, nongovernmental organizations and citizens work selflessly to help the earthquake victims,” the President noted.

According to https://www.reliefweb.int  the earthquakes struck  6th of February at about 4:17 am. It noted that  a 7.8 degrees magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey near Syria’s northern border.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was centered about 33 km (20 miles) from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital. Tremors were felt as far away as Lebanon, Greece, Palestine and the island of Cyprus.

Another big earthquake, the second struck on the same day at around 1:24 pm local time, largely in the same affected areas. According to SARC  the Syria earthquake hits Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartous governorates.