Quake in Syria and Turkey kills over 4300, more than 15,000 injured

ISTANBUL: The death toll across Syria and Turkey soared above 4300 after strong tremors shook the two places. There are extensive damages in south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria. The death toll is expected to rise. 15,000 people have been injured in Turkey and Syria.

The rescuers dug with their bare hands through the freezing night for survivors among the rubble of thousands of buildings felled in a series of violent quakes.

People are camping in open areas fearing continuous quakes. The first powerful quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck yesterday at 6.47 am Indian time (4.17 am local time). Most of the victims were in their sleep and this is the cause for the death toll to rise.

Within two hours there were more than 40 continuous quakes. The second earthquake of magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale struck at 3.54 pm Indian time. The third also recorded 6.0. The quake shook Iraq, Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel. It was in Kahramanmaras, 66 km north of Gaziantep, in Turkey's Syrian border province of Gaziantep. A second earthquake disrupted the rescue operations.

Team of NDRF personnel with a specially trained dog squad along with necessary equipment departs for Turkey, for search & rescue operations.#Turkey was hit by three consecutive devastating earthquakes of magnitude 7.8, 7.6 & 6.0 yesterday, killing more than 3,400 people. pic.twitter.com/xGfS6AGBOp

— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2023

Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the epicenter of the earthquake was in Pasarjik district of Kahramanmaras province. It is 50 km from the north-west Syrian border. The source was at a depth of 17.9 km below the earth's surface. Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras was the epicenter of the second earthquake.

Turkey is one of the most earthquake prone areas in the world. This is the first such devastating earthquake in Turkey since the 1999 earthquake that killed more than 17,000 people. Tremors were also recorded thousands of kilometers away in Greenland. Countries including India announced emergency aid.

Buildings collapsed
Hundreds of buildings collapsed within minutes. It is not clear how many people are trapped between them. Among the ruins is the historic Gaziantep Castle in the city of Gaziantep. Built by the Hittites, this fort is more than 2,000 years old. A shopping mall collapsed in the city of Diyarbakır.

The earthquake affected 10 cities in Turkey like Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis. The highest number of deaths are reported in Gaziantep.

Indian team for rescue operations
New Delhi: India will send two 100-member National Disaster Response Force teams for rescue operations in Turkey. Following the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the decision was taken in an emergency meeting called by Principal Secretary Dr P K Mishra in Delhi.

There will also be a trained dog squad to locate stranded people. India is also sending doctors, paramedics and essential medicines.

India has offered all possible help to deal with the earthquake.