Tragedy in Türkiye and Syria: over 4,200 people victims of earthquake
2,921 people have been officially declared dead due to the strong earthquake that struck Türkiye; 1,293 victims have been recorded in Syria, according to the Anadolu Agency and Al Jazeera.
Orhan Tatar, the director of the AFAD department for earthquakes and risk reduction, revealed that there are currently 2,316 people dead and 13,293 people injured in Türkiye, known until recently as Turkey.
Al Jazeera reports that 1,293 people have been confirmed dead due to the earthquake in Syria, in addition to the 3,411 known injured.
Also, 6,216 buildings collapsed. 7,840 people had, as of that time, been rescued from the wreckage in Türkiye.
Later, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that 14,483 individuals were injured and 2,379 people died during the earthquakes.
Oktay said that 338,000 earthquake victims were housed in dorms, colleges, and shelter facilities run by the Ministry of National Education.
Later, Anadolu reported that the number of earthquake victims in southeast Türkiye rose to 2,921 even later. Yunus Sezer, the chair of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, reported that 15,834 people were injured.
For background
Strong earthquakes struck Türkiye, Syria, and Lebanon early on February 6. The sites of the disaster experienced fire outbreaks. The earthquakes caused extensive damage to homes and other structures.
The central part of the country then experienced another earthquake.
Over the day, over 1,500 people lost their lives in Türkiye, and over 500 died in Syria.
Residents of Crimea and the southern regions of Ukraine felt the earthquakes.
More than ten rescue teams from European countries have been dispatched to Türkiye. Ukraine has also offered to assist with search and rescue efforts.
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs received 24 reports of Ukrainians losing contact in the impacted provinces. Their location is being determined.
Dmytro Kuleba, the minister of foreign affairs, stated that Ukraine might send several rescue teams to Türkiye to assist in clearing the rubble following the earthquake.
