6.4- and 5.4-magnitude earthquakes hit Turkish-Syrian border again
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Syrian news agency SANA reports that Aleppo University Hospital received six injuries because of stones that fell due to the earthquake.
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Destroyed buildings are seen from above in Antakya in Turkey on February 9, 2023 (AP)
The Turkish-Syrian border experienced a 6.4-magnitude earthquake as per a Reuters report with aftershocks reaching Syria and Lebanon, followed by yet another earthquake of a 5.4 magnitude in the same region.
The Turkish Emergency and Disaster Management Department (AFAD) confirmed that the epicenter of both earthquakes was in Antakya, as Al Mayadeen correspondent in Turkey detailed that they struck the town of Samandag in Antakya.
Consequently, damaged buildings collapsed, which unfortunately indicated that there are people under the rubble. Citizens were urged by the AFAD to avoid being next to damaged buildings while the emergency management building responsible for managing the crisis in Hatay was evacuated.
In regards to Syria, Al Mayadeen correspondent in Syria verified that a damaged building in Latakia collapsed. Syrian news agency SANA reported that Aleppo University Hospital received six injuries because of falling stones.
The highway that links Turkish cities Antakya and Iskenderun was partially destroyed on Monday, according to local sources to Sputnik, because of the two earthquakes that the AFAD said happened at three-minute intervals.
"Part of the Antakya-Iskenderun highway was destroyed after earthquakes," the sources said.
This comes just two weeks after the devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria leaving more than 45,000 people dead.
"Unfortunately, several houses collapsed, and people, were left under the rubble," the governor of the Turkish province of Hatay, Lutfu Savas, stated on the air of the NTV broadcaster, noting that rescuers are on the way to offer help.
CNN Turk reported that a one-year-old infant was discovered under the rubble of one of the houses and confirmed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was in the province, left and proceeded to Kahramanmaras.
