The Dominican Republic expressed this Monday its “deep condolences” with the people and the Government of Turkey for the strong earthquake in magnitude 7.7 that shook this morning and has left at least 912 dead in that country alone.
The Dominican Foreign Minister, Roberto Álvarez, expressed the condolences of the country through his Twitter account. “Our solidarity with the brother Turkish people,” the official wrote as part of a tweet.
In total, the deaths from the quake add up to more than 1,500 if the people who died in Syria are counted. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in charge of announcing the latest balance of deaths and injuries in Turkey, although due to the fact that rescue work is underway, he did not want to give a total number of possible victims.
“It is the second strongest since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake. According to the latest assessments it is 7.7. There is serious damage also in neighboring areas of Syria,” said the Turkish president, confirming that there have been landslides or serious damage in more than 2,800 homes and that 2,470 people have been rescued alive from the rubble.
In Syria, embroiled in more than a decade of civil war, the affected area is divided between territory controlled by Bashar al-Assad’s government and the last opposition-controlled enclave of the country, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces.
Thus, the earthquake has left at least 592 dead and 1,508 injured in Syrian territory, including 371 deceased and 1,089 injuries registered in Damascus-held areas in the northwestern provinces of Tartus, Latakia, Hama and Aleppo, according to the official SANA news agency.
