The Ministry of the Interior of Turkey reported that there are 7,108 deaths from the earthquake as of this Wednesday morning, while in Syria two figures are being handled: the official ones and those of the Civil Defense, which keeps track of the areas controlled by the rebels.
The authorities of Turkey and Syria counted on the morning of this Wednesday, February 8, more than 9,600 deaths and more than 45,000 injuries; product of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, along with successive aftershocks, which affected several regions in the southeast of the Turkish nation and northern Syria.
The Turkish Ministry of the Interior, through the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), indicated in a statement that they confirmed the death of 7,108 people in 11 provinces, as well as highlighted the counting of 40,910 injured people.
He stressed that there have been 648 aftershocks from Monday’s earthquake, the largest of which was a magnitude 7.6 with an epicenter in the Elbistan region. In addition, he pointed out that there are more than 96,000 brigade members and volunteers deployed in the disaster zone to search for more survivors while time is running out for it.
He also highlighted that an air bridge was formed between the 11 affected provinces and Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir to send people and materials to facilitate the search and rescue of the victims.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit disaster areas; especially the city of Kahramanmaraş and the province of Hatay, near the epicenter of the powerful earthquake, within the framework of the state of emergency for three months that it decreed in 11 provinces in view of the magnitude of the damage.
For its part, the Ministry of Health in Syria indicated that there are officially 1,250 deaths and 2,054 injuries in the provinces controlled by the government of Damascus; while in the rebel areas it is estimated that there are more than 1,280 deaths and 2,600 wounded, as reported by the Syrian Civil Defense.
That rescue body warns that the number of deaths must rise considerably because there are still hundreds of people trapped in the rubble.
The Catholic Church in Syria, meanwhile, asks the US and the European Union to lift sanctions and rebuild the areas affected by the earthquake.
“Perpetuating the sanctions against Syria means condemning many people to death. We ask to immediately lift the sanctions,” said Monsignor Georges Abou Khazen, Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo for Catholics.
With information from Europe Press / abc / CNN / D.W. /
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