Powerful earthquake in South Turkey leaves over 2,900 killed, 15000 injured so far

Ankara: At least 2,921 people were killed and 15,834 others injured in 10 provinces of Türkiye due to two strong earthquakes that jolted the southern part of the country, an official from the nation’s disaster agency said early Tuesday, Anadolu news Agency reported.

Early Monday morning, a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province and strongly shook several other provinces, including Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kilis, the report said.

Then at 13.24 p.m. (1024GMT), a 7.6 magnitude quake centered in Kahramanmaras’s Elbistan district struck the region.

Yunus Sezer, head of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), said the quakes were followed by 243 aftershocks and 6,217 buildings collapsed.

Around 16,400 search and rescue personnel are working in the region, Sezer said, adding that 65 countries have offered help so far.

Türkiye’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said that 338,000 earthquake victims have been housed in dormitories, universities and shelters, the report said.

Orhan Tatar, risk reduction general manager of AFAD, said earlier in the day that 250 million Turkish liras (about $13.3 million) in emergency funds had been sent to the provinces in the disaster area so far.

As a “purely precautionary decision,” the Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Company (BOTAS) stopped the flow of crude oil in the region, Tatar added.

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