The earthquake, whose epicenter is in Turkey, killed at least 386 people and injured 988 in northern Syria on Monday, according to provisional reports released by state media and rescue workers in the rebel zone. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey at dawn on Monday, where the death toll now stands at 284, and neighboring Syria.
According to Syrian television, 239 people were killed in the collapse of homes and 648 injured in several cities including Aleppo (north), Syria’s second city. Victims have also been identified in Hama (center) as well as Latakia and Tartous, on the Mediterranean coast. A previous toll reported 237 dead in areas under Syrian regime control.
In the regions held by the rebels, close to Turkey, it is the White Helmets, rescue workers who are mobilizing in these areas, who have identified the number of victims.
disaster areas
“One hundred and forty-seven civilians died and more than 340 injured according to a provisional report, in the province of Idleb and the surroundings of Aleppo”, in the north of the country, announced the White Helmets on Twitter, adding to expect a “significant increase” in the number of victims, “hundreds of families still under the rubble”.
In a statement, the White Helmets declared these regions “disaster” and called on international humanitarian organizations to “intervene quickly” to help the local population. The earthquake caused scenes of panic in northern Syria where residents rushed outside, on foot or by car, despite the torrential rains, as well as in neighboring Lebanon where the tremors were strongly felt.
“We are hearing voices here and there. We think maybe 200 people are under the rubble,” said a rescuer dispatched to a destroyed building in Diyarbakir, according to images broadcast on the NTV channel. According to Afad, the earthquake that occurred overnight had a magnitude of 7.4 and a depth of 7 km.
No victim identified among the approximately 200 Belgians registered in the affected regions
Some 200 Belgians are registered with the FPS Foreign Affairs in regions hit by a strong earthquake in southern Turkey and neighboring Syria on Monday, while eight people said they were currently traveling in areas affected. Foreign Affairs have no information at this stage on possible Belgian victims, they told the Belga agency.
Foreign Affairs is in constant contact with the local authorities through their diplomatic representatives present in Turkey and Syria. The Belgian Embassy in Ankara attempted Monday morning to contact all Belgian nationals in the affected regions. All Belgians who are in the affected regions and who are not registered with Foreign Affairs are asked to do so.
Rescuers on the job
The tremors, felt across the southeast of the country, were also felt in Lebanon and Cyprus, according to AFP correspondents. Buildings have been destroyed in many cities in the south-east of the country, according to images broadcast by the Turkish media, raising fears of a much heavier toll.
An AFP correspondent in Diyarbakir, a large city in the south-east of the country, saw a collapsed building, with rescuers hard at work trying to extricate people from the rubble. On Twitter, Turkish Internet users shared the identity and location of people trapped under the rubble in several cities in the south-east of the country. Adana city mayor Zeydan Karalar said two 17-storey and 14-storey buildings were destroyed, according to TRT.
It’s a call including for international help
“All our teams are on alert. We have issued a level four alarm. This is a call, including for international help”, Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu told the Haberturk channel. “Our teams are on alert to rescue survivors,” also affirmed the Syrian White Helmets, rescue workers engaged in rebel areas in Syria, on Twitter.
50 aftershocks were recorded in Turkey, according to Afad. The governor of Gaziantep province called on residents to gather outside despite the cold, while the head of Diyanet, the Turkish public body responsible for supervising worship, called on Turks in need to find refuge in mosques.
Turkish rescuers and civil defense as well as Syrian firefighters were at work Monday morning to try to extract possible victims from the rubble, according to local media. Turkey is located on one of the most active seismic zones in the world.
At the end of November, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck northwestern Turkey, injuring around 50 people and causing limited damage, according to the Turkish emergency services.
In January 2020, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck the provinces of Elazig and Malatya (East), killing more than 40 people. In October of the same year, a magnitude 7 earthquake in the Aegean Sea killed 114 people and injured more than 1,000 in Turkey.