Photo: AFP
The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria on Monday exceeds 11,200 people and the injured amount to 55,000, according to the new balance released this Wednesday, while rescue teams continued to search for survivors in the middle of the cold and devastation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited the city of Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the quake, announced that the number of fatalities in his country reached 8,574 people, while in Syria 2,662 bodies were recovered from the rubble.
According to the Turkish president, 50,000 people were injured, while rescuers and Syrian authorities mentioned 5,000 injured, according to the AFP news agency.
Photo: AFP.
“We have had difficulties at the beginning with the airports and on the roads, but this Wednesday we are better and on Thursday we will be better,” said the head of the Turkish state, in the face of criticism and anger at the slowness of the aid.
Pope Francis urged the international community to help those affected by the devastating earthquake: “I thank those who are making an effort to bring help and I encourage everyone to show solidarity with these territories, in part already martyred by a long war,” he declared during the General Audience that he led in the Vatican.
I am deeply saddened by the many lives lost due to the earthquake in #Turkey and #Syria. Entrusting to the mercy of the Lord all those who have died, I pray for all those who participate in the rescue operations.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex_es) February 6,
Rescuers, aided by the first emergency teams from other countries, fight against the clock to find people alive after the earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on Monday at 4:17 (23:17 on Sunday in Argentina), with an epicenter in the southeast of Turkey.
Photo: AFP.
Turkey’s interior minister warned that the next 48 hours would be “crucial” to find survivors of the quake, which led Ankara to declare seven days of national mourning.
It is the worst earthquake Turkey has experienced since 1999, when a shock killed 17,000 people, a thousand of them in Istanbul.
This is the worst earthquake Turkey has experienced since 1999, when a shock killed 17,000 people, a thousand of them in Istanbul
This Tuesday, in the Syrian town of Jindires, The lifeguards were able to rescue a newborn girl from the rubble of the building.
The baby was still attached by the umbilical cord to her mother, deceased like the rest of the family members.
However, the rescue came late for Irmak, a 15-year-old teenager. In silence, her father Mesur Hancer held the limp hand of the girl trapped in the remains of a block in Kahramanmaras. (southeastern Turkey).
Photo: AFP
The devastating earthquake was followed by numerous aftershocks, some powerful, which sent many survivors into panic, afraid to return to their homes.
In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, many decided to take refuge at the airport. “Right now our lives are really marked by uncertainty,” said Zahide Sutcu, who fled her home with her two children.
In total, the World Health Organization estimates that 23 million people were “exposed” to the consequences of the earthquake, “including five million vulnerable people.”
This Tuesday the first foreign rescue teams began to arrive. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who decreed a state of emergency for a period of three months in ten affected provinces, indicated that 45 countries offered help, including Argentina.
Argentina stands in solidarity with the peoples and governments of #Türkiye and #Syria after the earthquake that caused a tragic number of victims. Our embassies are available ⬇️ https://t.co/7QPKInQbK1
– Alberto Fernández (@alferdez) February 6, 2023
As reported by the Argentine Foreign Ministry, the Argentine Agency for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance-White Helmets (Aciah) offered humanitarian assistance from Argentina to the population affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Meanwhile, the European Union has mobilized 1,185 first responders and 79 tracking dogs for Turkey and is working with its humanitarian partners in Syria to fund relief operations.
Photo: AFP.
For its part, the United States anticipates the arrival of two teams of rescuers this Wednesday in Turkey and is also working with local NGOs in Syria to help the victims.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that “these funds will go to all the Syrian people, not to the regime” in Damascus led by Bashar al-Assad, whose calls for help have so far only received a response from his ally Russia, according to AFP.
Photo: AFP.
The head of operations of the United States Agency for Development Assistance (USAID), Stephen Allen, said from Ankara that all his “humanitarian support is directed right now to northwestern Syria.”
