Over 4,300 dead in Turkey and Syria in devastating earthquakes

More than 4,300 people were killed in a series of devastating attacks and at least 19,000 were injured. earthquakes that rocked the southeast Turkeynear the border with Syriaand it left thousands of buildings in ruins, still looking for survivors in the midst of freezing temperatures.

IN TurkeyThe death toll has risen to 2,921 and the number of injured to 15,834, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (Afad). Syria There are at least 1,300 killed and 3,400 wounded.

About 7800 people were rescued in Turkey of the rubble of thousands of buildings that collapsed in two violent quakes, one with a magnitude of 7.7 and the other later with a force of 7.6, the government said, according to the official Anadolu news agency.

About 25,000 people, including soldiers, are taking part in the rescue efforts, according to Orhan Tatar, a senior official at the Afad national emergency agency, who said 12.1 million euros ($13.3 million) have been allocated to form of urgent funds. for the ten most affected provinces.

In addition, dozens of countries have already begun sending hundreds of rescuers and specialists to search for survivors.

The Vice President indicated that more than 300,000 earthquake victims have been housed in university centers, shelters and student residences.

Low temperatures and snow in the area, where there are also hard-to-reach mountain areas, complicate rescue work.

Local authorities reported disruptions in gas and electricity supplies in some areas, and the state oil company cut off oil supplies to the region as a “precautionary measure.”

In Syria, plunged into civil war for more than a decade, information about the victims comes, on the one hand, from the government of Bashar al-Assad, and on the other, from the country’s last enclave controlled by the opposition. , surrounded by Russian-backed government forces.

At the latest, there are 593 dead and 1,411 injured in regime-controlled territory, according to the agency. RAGE.

In the northwestern province of Idlib, the last stronghold of the opposition, and in other areas of neighboring Aleppo not controlled by Damascus, at least 700 people were killed and about 2,000 were injured, according to the White Helmets rescue team.

These opposition areas bordering Turkeyare closer to the epicenter, so there are fewer opportunities for coordinating the count, since there is no single state body responsible for rescue work.

International assistance

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) He recalled today that in these opposition areas, “hard” affected by the earthquake, there are 4.1 million people who depend on humanitarian assistance for their survival, and mostly women and children.

This body explained that communication with the ground is difficult due to “chronic” interruptions in telephone communications and Internet services, to which information is added about alleged roadblocks in northwestern Syria, as well as in Turkey.

Syrian Foreign Ministry appealed to UNNGOs and government organizations that are “supporting” the government’s efforts to combat the “humanitarian catastrophe,” according to a statement released by the official SANA news agency.

On Monday, 13 European Union (EU) countries offered search and rescue teams, the agency said. European Commissionand Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted that a total of 45 countries have offered assistance.

Several of Turkey’s 10 worst-affected provinces experienced power and gas outages and cracked some reservoirs, although authorities say there is no structural damage.

The first major earthquake was recorded at 4:17 am (local time) and had a magnitude of 7.7, according to the Turkish emergency service Afad, with its epicenter at Pazarchik in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras.

Subsequently, there were up to 145 aftershocks, one of which was a force of 7.6 at 10:24 GMT. “As debris removal continues in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will be,” Erdogan said this morning, declaring seven days of national mourning across the country.

In the province of Kahramanmaras, an 18-year-old woman was found alive 12 hours after the earthquake, and in Diyarbaki, a man was rescued after being trapped for 14 hours, Anadolu news agency reported.

The earthquake was also strongly felt in Lebanon, including in Beirut.

One of the symbols of the huge destruction caused by the earthquake is the historic Roman castle of Gaziantep, which stood for over 1700 years and was demolished by the earthquake.

The historic citadel of Aleppo in Syria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also affected.

Turkish authorities announced the closure of schools in the ten most affected provinces, as well as the suspension of all sports competitions.

(As reported by EFE)