Powerful earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria: death toll exceeds 1,300 and continues to rise
A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday morning, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing more than 1,300 people. The death toll is expected to rise as the day progresses.
Rescuers searched rubble piles in cities and towns across the region as hundreds of people were trapped under the rubble.
A pre-dawn earthquake drove residents outside on a cold, rainy and snowy winter night as buildings were destroyed and violent aftershocks continued.
Rescuers and residents of many cities searched for survivors, making their way through heaps of metal and giant piles of concrete, AP reports.
A car under the rubble of a collapsed building in the city of Azmarin, Idlib province, northern Syria, Monday, February 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
“Six hundred and thirty-nine people were injured and 237 people died in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus,” the Syrian Health Ministry said in a statement.
In northern Syrian areas controlled by pro-Turkish groups, at least eight people have been killed in the Azaz and al-Bab areas, Omar Alwan, the area’s medical response coordinator, told AFP, adding that the number is likely to rise as searches and rescue efforts continue. .
“We are working to rescue the survivors and retrieve the dead from the rubble,” he said, as dozens of rescuers and residents worked in the dark looking for survivors in the rubble with flashlights.
A view of the wreckage of a collapsed building following the magnitude 7.4 Kahramanmaras earthquake in Idlib, Syria February 6, 2023. At least 427 people have died and hundreds have been injured in various parts of Syria. (Mohammed Said/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The 7.8 magnitude quake struck at 04:17 (01:17 GMT) on Monday near Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey at a depth of about 17.9 km (11 miles), according to the US Geological Survey.
According to AFP correspondents, the tremors were felt in Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus.
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