Turkish authorities announced on Sunday, February 19, that efforts to rescue potential survivors from the rubble in most of the quake-affected regions have been completed. They reported that search operations are only maintained in Hatay and Kahramanmaraş, two of the most affected areas.
At least three people have died and another 213 have been injured in two new earthquakes of magnitude 6.4 and 5.8 in the Turkish province of Hatay, one of 11 that two weeks ago were devastated by two earthquakes that have caused causing the death of at least 43,000 people and injury to more than 105,000.
This was announced by the Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu, who warned of the possibility that there are more people trapped in the ruins of the buildings that collapsed today.
The country’s disaster and emergency agency (AFAD) reported that the tremor occurred at 8:04 p.m. local time. The agency also warned people to stay away from the coast in Hatay province, as the water level could rise half a meter after the new quake.
These new earthquakes are registered two weeks after one of magnitude 7.8, which to date has left at least 44,330 deaths between Turkey and Syria, according to official balances.
The Turkish emergency service Afad reported that they counted at least 40,642 fatalities in Turkey alone.
To these are added 3,688 people who have died in Syria, according to figures from the White Helmets rescue group, which operates in the northwestern opposition region, and the official Syrian agency SANA, which offers the count of all other areas under the government of Syrian President Bachar. al Assad.
*Read also:Three survivors found in Turkey 13 days after earthquake
The president of the SANA agency assured that this data is still provisional, because they just began to remove the rubble and they do not rule out that they find more bodies under it.
It is estimated that there are still tens of thousands of bodies under the rubble and it is expected that the final balance will be around or exceed 100,000 dead in Turkey and Syria.
Turkey concludes search efforts
The Turkish authorities announced this Sunday, February 19, that the rescue efforts of possible survivors from the rubble in most of the regions affected by the earthquake were completed. They reported that operations are only maintained in Hatay and Kahramanmaraş, two of the most affected areas.
The announcement came after the good news that three people, including a child, were found alive under rubble last Saturday in Hatay province. In this town, located on the Mediterranean coast, there were 30,000 buildings collapsed or useless, followed by Kahramanmaras, with 22,000 collapsed buildings, Malatya, with 16,000, Gaziantep, with 15,000, and Adiyaman, with 13,000 collapsed.
With information from Radio Faith and Joy
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