Devastation Continues As Latest Quake Kills 6 More In Turkey, Syria
45,000 people were previously killed in the February 6 quake in Syria and Turkey. (File)
Antalya:
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey’s southern province of Hatay and northern Syria on Monday night, killing six people and sparking new panic after a massive Feb. 6 earthquake that killed nearly 45,000 people in both countries.
The civil protection agency AFAD reported the deaths and nearly 300 hospitalizations, while in Syria the White Helmets relief group said at least 150 people were injured in the Aleppo region.
Monday’s quake struck the Turkish city of Defne at 20:04 (1704 GMT) and was strongly felt by AFP teams in the nearby city of Antakya. This was also felt in Lebanon.
Turkey’s Civil Protection Agency said on Twitter that a magnitude 5.8 earthquake followed three minutes later, with the epicenter in Samandag district, Hatay province.
About 20 minutes after the first on Monday, the agency registered two more tremors with a magnitude of 5.2.
Images from the DHA news agency showed the evacuation of a hospital in Antakya, while NTV reported that a hospital in the city of Iskenderun was being evacuated.
DHA said patients in an intensive care unit have been taken to field hospitals by ambulance to continue their treatment.
Soylu said rescue workers were trying to find people trapped under rubble.
“Earth Opens”
An AFP journalist reported scenes of panic in Antakya, with the new tremors kicking up clouds of dust across the devastated city. The walls of badly damaged buildings crumbled while several, who appeared to be injured, called for help.
On a street in Antakya, 18-year-old Ali Mazlum told AFP: “We were with AFAD who were looking for the bodies of our family when the quake hit.
“You don’t know what to do…we grabbed each other and right in front of us the walls started falling. It felt like the earth was opening up to swallow us.”
Mazlum, who has lived in Antakya for 12 years, searched for the bodies of his sister and her family, as well as his brother-in-law and his family.
“No longer safe”
“The road moved like waves. The building moved back and forth, the cars moved from left to right. It blew my mind,” said Mehmet Irmak, who works at a notary’s office in Antakya.
“Hatay is no longer a safe place. We could hear many buildings collapsing… We will wait for a new day, but I don’t know what I will do,” added Irmak, who had been sleeping in his car for two weeks after the first tremor.
The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said five hospitals it supports in north-west Syria have taken in several people who suffered minor injuries, some when parts of damaged buildings fell on them.
In government-controlled areas of Syria, hospitals in Aleppo also took in panicked residents, while six people were injured by falling debris, state news agency SANA said.
Al-Razi Hospital in Aleppo received 47 cases, state media reported.
“We stormed out, we don’t know how we left. I was afraid that the same fate would befall us as those who died under the rubble,” said Khadija Al Khalaf, a 45-year-old mother in the rebel instead of City of Azaz.
aftershocks
According to AFAD, more than 6,200 aftershocks have been recorded since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, leaving millions homeless.
Officials said after the tremor that aftershocks would be felt for a year because of the strength of the initial tremor.
Officials have put the death toll from this quake at 41,156 people in Turkey and 3,688 in Syria, but experts say the number will rise as the debris is cleared and rescue efforts are complete.
Eleven provinces in Turkey were hit by the previous tremors and on Sunday officials said rescue operations would only continue in two: Hatay and Kahramanmaras.
“My thoughts remain with the people of Turkiye and Syria who are facing the effects of new earthquakes hitting the region tonight,” UN chief Antonio Guterres wrote on Twitter.
UN teams there are “assessing the situation and we stand ready to provide additional support if needed,” he said.
Earlier Monday in Ankara, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as he wrapped up a visit during which he pledged solidarity in the wake of the quakes.
The United States has provided $185 million in aid to Turkey and Syria.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published by a syndicated feed.)
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