More than 50,000 killed in earthquake in Turkey and Syria Turkish architects: Government is complicit in the disaster

Two and a half weeks after the earthquake disaster in the Turkish-Syrian border area, the death toll has risen above 50,000. In Turkey alone, there are 44,218, the Turkish disaster agency Afad reported on Friday evening. 5,900 deaths have recently been reported from Syria.

Aftershocks continue to shake the region, often causing panic among local residents. According to the Turkish government, 20 million people in the country have been affected by the earthquake. The United Nations estimates that 8.8 million people in Syria will be affected.

The areas affected by the earthquake were initially difficult to access, but salvage work continues and the number of casualties is increasing as it progresses. There have been no more reports of rescue of survivors in recent days.

The series of earthquakes began on February 6, when two earthquakes of 7.7 and a little later of 7.6 shook southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. More than 9,000 aftershocks followed, according to Turkish sources.

According to the United Nations, the earthquake disaster was not only the worst in Turkish history in terms of fatalities. The rubble heaps are also unprecedented, said Louisa Vinton, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) representative in Turkey. According to the Turkish government, more than 173,000 buildings have been recorded as collapsed or severely damaged.

Eleven provinces in Turkey are affected by the earthquake, in Syria the northwest. There is only little information about the situation from the civil war country. Despite years of bombing and fighting, many people there were already living in precarious conditions before the quakes.

(yam/sda/dpa)