CNN reported on the 7th that the death toll from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey on the morning of the 6th (local time) is approaching 4,900.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency quoted the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) on the 7th as saying that the death toll rose by 460, from 2,921 to 3,381 as of 9:45 am.
At least 20,426 people were injured, said Orhan Tatar, an official with the Turkiye Disaster and Risk Management Agency.
He explained that so far 11,000 buildings have been damaged in Turkiye, with close to 25,000 first responders working on site.
It added that rescuers were mobilizing at least 10 ships and 54 aircraft to transport the injured and search for them.
CNN reported that the death toll in Syria had risen to 1,509, citing figures released by the Syrian government and officials of the Syrian rebels. At least 3,548 injured are known in Syria. The total number of wounded on both sides is about 24,000.
In Turkiye, about 7,800 people were rescued through work that continued overnight, and the rescue work resumed in earnest on the morning of the 7th, but it is experiencing difficulties due to bad weather such as freezing cold.
The highest temperature during the day in the Gaziantep region, the epicenter, is only 3 to 4 degrees Celsius, and it is known that the temperature drops to below -4 degrees Celsius at night. Rescue and search operations are also quite difficult.
In addition, more than 100 strong aftershocks with a magnitude of 4.0 or higher continued on the second day, and there are concerns about the occurrence of additional aftershocks, which is an obstacle to rescue work.
ⓒ News1 In particular, it is said that the rescue operation is more difficult because heavy equipment cannot be used recklessly due to the possibility of survivors in the wreckage.
Rescue teams, fire authorities, and job seekers are conducting desperate rescue operations to find and rescue even one more survivor. Medical staff were also dispatched to the scene, and the hospital was overflowing with injured people.
In addition, the survivors who barely survived are struggling to save the people buried under the rubble, and the local situation is even more serious, such as sleeping on the street among the rubble of collapsed buildings on a cold winter night.
It is said that there are overflowing numbers of people abandoning their homes for fear of their houses collapsing due to additional aftershocks. In addition, roads and major infrastructure have been destroyed, making rescue operations difficult and increasing the risk to refugees.
The earthquake, which struck southern Turkey, occurred at 4:17 am on the 6th at a magnitude of 7.8 about 33 km inland from Gaziantep in the south. At 1:24 p.m., a 7.5-magnitude earthquake occurred 59 km northeast of Kahramanmaras. Then, around 6:13 am on the same day, a strong aftershock with a magnitude of 5.3 followed in central Turkey, and the scale of damage is expected to increase further.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.