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The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria jumped to 16,035 people on Thursday (9/2/2023). Photo/Anadolu Agency
ANKARA – The number of victims who died as a result of the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria jumped to 16,035 on Thursday (9/2/2023). Survivors in Turkey voiced their anger at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the government’s slow response.
Rescue teams are still struggling to save victims trapped under the rubble of buildings in the freezing weather.
Quoting AFP, officials and medics said 12,873 people died in Turkey and 3,162 people died in Syria in Monday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake, bringing the total confirmed to 16,035. Tens of thousands more were injured.
As the scale of the disaster became clearer, the death toll was likely to rise significantly. A UN official said thousands of children may have died.
Also read: Earthquake Victims Angry at Erdogan’s Slow Response: Where is the Country?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces. But survivors in several of Turkey’s ravaged cities voiced anger and despair at the president because of the government’s slow and inadequate response.
“There isn’t even a single person here. We are under the snow, without a house, without anything,” laments Murat Alinak, whose house in Malatya has collapsed and relatives are missing.
“What should I do, where can I go?” he said, as quoted by Reuters.
Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake, followed hours later by a second, nearly as strong, collapsed thousands of buildings including hospitals, schools and apartment blocks, injured tens of thousands of people, and left many homeless in Turkey and northern Syria.
Rescue workers are struggling to reach some of the worst-hit areas, held back by destroyed roads, bad weather and a lack of resources and heavy equipment. Some areas without fuel and electricity.
