A major earthquake in Türkiye and Syria has left hundreds dead. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit central Türkiye and northwest Syria causing severe damage. A second earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 hit Türkiye later, followed by a 5.9-magnitude aftershock.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has informed that around 912 people were killed and 5,383 were injured due to the earthquake. The earthquake in Türkiye has destroyed 2,818 buildings, under which thousands are still reportedly trapped.
According to the Syrian health ministry, 430 were killed, and 1,315 have been affected by the earthquake. Syrian experts say the earthquake’s aftershocks were not terrible, unlike in Türkiye.
No valid information regarding the total casualty has been received from the West-backed ‘rebel’ territories in Syria. As per a Reuters report, nearly 147 deaths were reported from the West-backed militant-controlled territories of Syria.
While the first earthquake in Türkiye hit Adana, Gaziantep, Diyarbakir, Kahramanmaras, Malatya, and Sanliurfa, the second quake hit 67 km to the northeast of Kahramanmaras town.
The earthquake affected the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia and Hama.
Countries like Cyprus, Nicosia, several regions of Lebanon, and the Iraqi capital Baghdad also felt tremors of the quakes.
Following the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria, the governments of both countries have dispatched rescue teams to the affected regions.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hosted an emergency meeting of his cabinet to ensure quick rescue measures. The Syrian Defence Ministry has mobilised its forces to carry out the rescue measures. In contrast, the West-backed ‘rebel’ strongholds have not clarified whether they will allow the Syrian government to enter their territory.
Following the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria, Turkish seismologists have been comparing the disaster with the 1999 earthquake that hit the city of Izmit, killing 17,500 people.
