At least 118 dead, 600 injured in Turkey-Syria earthquake
The death toll from the earthquake in Turkey is rising rapidly. The country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said 76 people have died in the earthquake so far.
At least 76 people were initially reported dead from the quake-hit areas in the country's southeast, AFAD said.
Anadolu News Agency reported in a report that AFAD listed Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyabakir, Adana, Adiaman, Maltya, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kilis as affected areas.
Another 440 people were reported injured in the report. Local officials say the death toll could rise with widespread damage.
Meanwhile, Syrian state media say at least 42 people died in the same earthquake in Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces. At least 200 people were injured, SANA news agency reported, citing the Syrian Ministry of Health.
In other words, a total of 118 people have died in the two countries so far in this earthquake at 4:17 am on Monday (February 6). The number of injured is high.
After the earthquake, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Twitter, "Search and rescue teams have been immediately sent to the earthquake-affected areas. '
"Hopefully we will overcome this disaster together with minimal damage very soon," he wrote.
Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said there were at least six aftershocks. He urged residents not to enter the affected buildings due to the risk.
He said, 'Our priority is to bring out the people trapped under the rubble. Simultaneously shifting the injured to the hospital. '
The earthquake hit Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey, bordering Syria, at 4:17 a.m. local time on Monday (February 6). It struck at a depth of 17.9 km near the city of Gaziantep.
The BBC reports that several buildings have collapsed. Many people may be trapped under the collapsed buildings.
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