Number of victims after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria rises enormously – more than 1400 deaths Number of victims after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria rises enormously – more than 1400 deaths

live ticker

After the renewed earthquake in the morning, we will report on further developments in the live ticker.

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12:13

Massive destruction

Turkish media reports of the destruction on site. Here are pictures of the city of Malatya:

A building was destroyed during a live broadcast in Malatya pic.twitter.com/Gvyxo92TRp

— Faytuks News Δ (@Faytuks) February 6, 2023

11:55

Another 7.5-magnitude earthquake is shaking southeastern Turkey

Another 7.5-magnitude earthquake has hit southeastern Turkey. The epicenter was in Kahramanmaras province, Istanbul’s Kandilli earthquake station reported Monday. (sda/dpa)

The overview

An overview of what happened in the night and in the morning can be found at the bottom of the article. After the second strong earthquake, we report in the live ticker.

The earthquakes

An earthquake of Scope 7.4 shook southeastern Turkey early Monday morning. The civil protection agency Afad said the epicenter was in Kahramanmaras province near the Syrian border. National Earthquake Center head Raed Ahmed said this was the strongest quake to hit Syria since 1995, according to Sana.

Another quake of Force 6.6 was measured shortly afterwards in the Gaziantep province of Turkey.

There were numerous aftershocks.

Another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale shook Southeast Turkey in the morning. The epicenter was in Kahramanmaras province, Istanbul’s Kandilli earthquake station reported Monday.

The Geoforschungszentrum Potsdam had previously reported earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.4 and 7.9. According to official information, the earthquake was also felt in Israel.

The casualty numbers

The strong earthquake in the Turkish-Syrian border area killed more than 1,400 people.

Turkey

In Turkey died at least 912 persons, as announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday. At least 5,300 people were injured. More than 2,400 people were rescued from the rubble.

The Turkish crescent called on the population to donate blood. In addition to blood donations, communities in the affected regions also called for in-kind donations and asked for items such as blankets, heaters, winter clothing, food packages and baby food.

Photos in Diyarbakir show barehanded rescuers clearing debris to free people trapped in a collapsed building.

Rain and cold make operations difficult. Temperatures in the affected areas are currently often in the minus range. It snowed heavily in some places. The state broadcaster TRT showed how people in the city of Iskenderun were freed from the rubble in the snow. Photos were also shown from the cities of Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Osmaniye, Diyarbakir and Adana, in which people were taken away, some wrapped in blankets.

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) currently has no information on Swiss casualties, as the FDFA informed the Keystone-SDA news agency upon request. Investigations are underway. The Swiss representations in Ankara and Istanbul are in contact with the responsible authorities on the ground. Swiss nationals on site are obliged to follow the instructions of the local authorities.

Syria

In Syria are in Syria more than 547 people died. More than 1,600 people are said to have been injured in several provinces, Deputy Health Minister Ahmed Dhamirijeh told Syrian state television on Monday. This is reported by aid organization SAMS, which works in rebel-controlled areas in Syria more than 100 fatalities.

“We are responding with everything we can to rescue those trapped under the rubble,” said the head of the Syrian group, Raed Al Saleh. “The situation is very tragic,” said one member of the group.

The damage

Images from both countries showed the extent of the devastation.

Turkey

According to the interior minister, several provinces in Turkey have been affected. At least 1700 buildings have collapsed. The collapsed buildings included residential buildings and a hospital in the town of Iskenderun. According to the state news agency Anadolu, the castle in the city of Gaziantep has also been badly damaged. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Multiple airports In the regions of Turkey particularly affected by the earthquake, civilian flights will remain closed for the time being. It concerns the airports in Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep, Vice President Fuat Oktay said Monday morning.

Rescue teams from all over the country would be brought together. In addition, alert level four was declared and international help was called for. Due to the communication bottlenecks, people in Turkey were urged to call online and not via the mobile phone network, so that buried people can be reached first. Temperatures in the affected areas are currently often in the minus range. It snowed heavily in some places.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wrote on Twitter: “We hope that together we can get through this disaster in the shortest possible time and with the least possible damage.”

Syria

Buildings have collapsed in numerous cities in Syria, Sana said. An entire block of houses collapsed in Idlib province. Rescue teams tried to pull people out of the rubble at night and at dawn.

International aid

“We urgently need the help of the international community,” said Basel Termanini, president of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), the dpa. The situation was “catastrophic”.

The Switzerland send help, as Federal President Alain Berset and Secretary of State Ignazio Cassis explained in tweets.

Redog, a Swiss association for search and rescue dogs, sends three teams to the disaster area. Operations are being planned together with the Turkish rescue organization GEA and the Directorate for Development and Cooperation (Deza).

Together with the Turkish rescue organization GEA, ten people and six dogs are involved in the operation, media spokeswoman Dagmar Wurzbacher of Redog said Monday at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. Another twelve people and eight dogs would participate in the Deza operation. The helpers’ flights should start in Zurich between 7 and 8 p.m. on Monday evening. When the helpers and their dogs are deployed on site, according to Wurzbacher, depends on the situation on site and any aftershocks and is determined on the basis of the hazards on site.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said Germany would of course send aid. Just like Israel, Italy or Greece, who agreed to send rescue teams despite serious tensions with Turkey. This helps that under the name earthquake diplomacy As is well known, after the severe earthquake in 1999, a phase of relaxation began between the states.

(red/sda/dpa)