ANKARA, TURKEY (AP) – The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck parts of Turkey and Syria on February 6 continues to rise as more bodies are recovered from the rubble of destroyed buildings. increase. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake that hit the already devastated Hatay province this week damaged or destroyed more buildings, exacerbating the devastation.
Let’s take a look at the major developments on Thursday after the earthquake.
Death toll exceeds 47,000
Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soyil said he had increased the death toll in Turkey to 43,556 from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria now stands at 47,244.
In an interview with state broadcaster TRT late on Wednesday, Soylu said teams were sifting through two buildings in hard-hit Hatay province in search of further bodies. Search operations elsewhere have come to an end, he said.
Meanwhile, at least 164,000 buildings have either collapsed or are so damaged that they need to be demolished, said Murat Kurum, Turkey’s minister for the environment and urbanization.
SYRIANS SHELTER IN TENTS AND CARS
The local civil defense in northwestern Syria, known locally as The White Helmets, said Thursday that thousands of children and tens of thousands of families have taken shelter in cars and tents “fearing they would face a repeat of the earthquake.”
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In government-held Syria, a first plane from Bahrain loaded with aid landed in Damascus. The Gulf monarchy is one of a number of Arab countries that have sought to unfreeze ties with President Bashar Assad in recent years after he shunned him in 2011, citing a crackdown on protesters.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt, key US allies in the region, are also providing assistance.
