Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces devastated by two earthquakes that killed more than 7,200 people and left a trail of destruction across a wide area of southern Turkey and neighbouring Syria.
Authorities feared the death toll from Monday’s pre-dawn earthquake and aftershocks would keep climbing as rescuers looked for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete spread across the region beset by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.
In Turkey, at least 5,434 people were killed and 22,168 injured, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Some 8,000 people have been rescued from the rubble. Erdogan on Tuesday declared 10 Turkish provinces a disaster zone and imposed a state of emergency there for three months.
In Syria, at least 812 people were killed, with another 1,832 injured, in the affected areas, according to the Syrian Health Ministry.At least 1,020 people have died and 2,400 were injured in Syria’s rebel-held areas, according to the White Helmets.
Battle against time under bitter cold to locate survivors in the ruins of the buildings collapsed by the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, give the rescue crews who rushed from every part of the planet.It is estimated that hundreds of people remain trapped in the rubble and anxiety about their fate is mounting as the hours pass.
The death toll is expected to rise significantly, as “hundreds of people remain trapped under the rubble.”
International aid began arriving in Turkey today, where seven days of national mourning have been declared. The first missions of rescuers from abroad have already been deployed in the affected areas and are operating together with their Turkish colleagues. At the same time, food and basic necessities have been sent for the relief of the earthquake victims.
