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Buildings in Syria collapsed due to the shock of a powerful earthquake centered in Turkey, Monday (6/2/2023). Photo/Twitter via Al Arabiya
ANKARA – Earthquake magnitude 7.8 brought down many buildings in Turki and Syria on Monday (6/2/2023) morning. The death toll continued to grow and people in fear ran out of their homes.
In Turkey, local officials confirmed that the death toll was 15. Five of the deaths were reported in Osmaniye province and another 10 in Sanliurfa, which is near Turkey’s border with Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter, “Search and rescue teams were urgently dispatched to the quake-hit areas.”
Also read: Breaking News: Powerful Earthquake Magnitude 7.8 Shakes Turkey
“We hope to get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage,” Erdogan continued.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said there were at least 6 aftershocks. He appealed to the public not to enter damaged buildings because of the risk.
“Our priority is to get the people trapped under the rubble and transfer them to the hospital,” he said.
In Syria, state media initially reported that at least 42 people had died in areas when buildings collapsed after a massive earthquake centered in southeastern Turkey. But minutes later the death toll was updated to 53.
“Forty-two deaths and 200 injuries have been reported in Aleppo, Hama and Latakia as a result of the earthquake in initial numbers,” the Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a Health Ministry official, before the data was updated.
Also read: Turkey’s Great Earthquake Kills 15 People, Hundreds of People are Worried in Turkey
