Death toll from earthquakes in Turkey surpasses 49,500
An estimated 7,000 foreigners are included in the death toll.
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People walk over the debris of collapsed buildings in Hatay, Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. Emergency crews made a series of dramatic rescues in Turkey on Friday and Saturday, pulling several people from the rubble days after a catastrophic 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed thousands in Turkey and Syria (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Saturday that the death toll from the devastating earthquake that rocked both Turkey and Syria and sent ripples of seismic waves across the Mediterranean region has officially surpassed the 49,500 mark, with an estimated 7,000 foreigners included in the death toll.
"As a result of the earthquakes in the center of [Turkey's province of] Kahramanmaras, 49,589 people have died, including 6,807 foreign citizens," Oktay was quoted as saying by Turkish newspaper Star, noting that Turkish authorities have already cleaned up about 20% of rubble from the collapsed buildings.
On February 6, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 hit the southeastern regions of Turkey within the span of 9 hours.
Read more: Will Turkey’s earthquake cost Erdogan the election?: CNN
Syria was also heavily affected by the quake where thousands of people were left deprived of humanitarian assistance in the initial days that followed the disaster due to anti-government militias refusing to let aid come in from government-controlled territories.
Damascus expressed several times its readiness and willingness to send aid to the country's north, which is held by various armed groups and terrorist organizations, knowing that the North is largely under the control of the terrorist HTS group.
On February 16, Al Mayadeen correspondent in Turkey reported that more than 250 contractors had been arrested for interrogation over the reasons behind the rapid and destructive collapse of buildings by the earthquake.
One of the most prominent contractors accused of negligence, Mehmet Yasar Coskun, the owner of the "Renaissance Residence" complex in the southern Hatay province, was arrested by the authorities while trying to flee the country to Montenegro from Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul.
