Earthquake toll in Turkey-Syria rises to 21,051

February 10, 2023 41 Views No Comment

New Delhi, Feb 10 (ANI) The death toll in the deadly Turkey-Syria earthquakes has climbed to at least 21,051 CNN reported citing authorities on Friday.

At least 17,674 people have died and 72,879 people have been injured in Turkey, according to Vice President Fuat Oktay on Thursday.

In the contrast, according to the White Helmets civil rescue organisation, in Syria at least 3,377 individuals were killed, including 2,030 in rebel-held areas in the northwest and 1,347 in government-controlled areas, as reported by Syrian state media.

A three-month state of emergency to speed up rescue and aid efforts in Turkey’s earthquake-hit provinces came into effect on Thursday after the approval of lawmakers, Anadolu Agency reported.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the three-month state of emergency to speed up search and rescue efforts in the quake-hit provinces, as per the news report.

Earthquakes of magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6, centred in the province of Kahramanmaras, were felt by 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa, as per the news report.

Turkey’s neighbouring countries, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the tremors.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday said that 75 nations and 16 international organisations have pledged aid to Turkey, CNN reported. \

He said that 6,479 rescue personnel from 56 countries are in the field.

“Teams from 19 more countries will be in our country within 24 hours,” CNN quoted Cavusoglu as saying.

India is assisting Turkey in the ongoing rescue effort. In order to aid those affected by the recent earthquakes, the Indian Army has sent out disaster relief teams and established a field hospital.

India’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) on Thursday tweeted an image of a female Indian Army officer hugging a Turkish woman in the earthquake-affected areas of Turkey.

The tweet read: ‘#OperationDost We Care. #IndianArmy #Turkiye.’