The strong earthquake of magnitude 7.7 that shook Turkey this morning has left more than 1,500 dead, at least 912 dead and more than 5,300 injured in that country aloneto which are added another 592 fatalities in Syrian territory, various sources reported.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in charge of announcing the latest balance of deaths and injuries in Turkey, although due to the fact that the rescue work is underway he did not want to give a total number of possible victims.
“It is the second strongest since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake. According to the latest assessments it is 7.7. There is serious damage also in neighboring areas of Syria,” said the Turkish president, confirming that there have been landslides or damage graves in more than 2,800 homes and that 2,470 people have been rescued alive from the rubble.
The level of destruction caused by the earthquake in Turkey makes it look like a war zone. This is utterly heartbreaking. Pray for Turkey and especially for the people trapped under the rubble. pic.twitter.com/PeqPXoNKlF
—KC (@kci2013) February 6, 2023
(Also: Earthquake in Turkey: the images of the devastating earthquake that leaves 1,400 dead).
The low temperatures and the snow in the area, where there are also mountainous territories that are difficult to access, complicate the rescue tasks.
Cries for help are heard in different buildings in the country. A Twitter user shared the anguish he experienced when hearing a little boy inside a building that is still standing, but has suffered damage to part of its structure.
“A heartbreaking scene. A call for help,” said Muhammad Muzamil when uploading the footage to networks. In this, the minor appears hanging from part of the roof of the building, while the man tries to calm him down, assuring him that the relief agencies will soon attend to him.
(You can see: On video: building collapses after devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria).
More earthquakes in Turkey
The shock put thousands of people out of bed on both sides of the border, with the quake knocking down buildings in a vast area of hundreds of kilometers that stretches from northern Syria, from cities like Aleppo, to southeastern Turkey, where The largest Turkish city in the region, Diyarbakir, has been affected.
The quake was also strongly felt in Lebanon, including Beirut.
The epicenter was found in Pazarcik in the province of Kahramanmaras, according to the Turkish emergency service Afad, although the Kandilli seismic observatory locates it in Sofalici, in the neighboring province of Gaziantep, about 40 kilometers further south.
The force of the earthquake was placed at 7.8 by the United States Geological Survey, while Afad establishes it at 7.7.
One of the symbols of the enormous destruction of the quake is the historic Roman castle of Gaziantep, which had stood for more than 1,700 years and has been leveled by the quake.
(Also: New 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes southeastern Turkey.)
The Turkish president, whose handling of this tragedy will weigh heavily in the hotly contested May 14 elections, called for national unity.
“We hope to get out of this catastrophe together as quickly as possible and with as little damage as possible,” he tweeted.
The European Union (EU) and many of its member countries announced that they were sending aid and rescue teams. So did the United States, Israel, India and Ukraine.
Experts have long warned that a large earthquake could devastate Istanbulwhich has allowed widespread construction without precautions.
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Elazig in January 2020, killing more than 40 people.
And in October of that same year, another of magnitude 7.0 shook the Aegean Sea, causing 114 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries.
AFP, EFE and EL TIEMPO
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