Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have killed at least 5,000 people

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- At noon on 7 February, at least 5,000 people were killed and tens of thousands were injured after powerful earthquakes hit parts of Turkey and neighboring Syria the previous morning, Xinhua news agency reported.

In Turkey, the death toll has risen to 3,419, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said, adding that at least 20,534 residents have been affected. In addition, as indicated by the country’s Office of Emergency Management and Disaster Management, devastating earthquakes led to the collapse of 5,775 buildings.

On 6 February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning for the dead.

More than 1,500 people have died and about 3,500 have been injured in the country, according to the Syrian Ministry of Health and local authorities.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 occurred in the province of Kahramanmarash in southern Turkey on 6 February at 04:17 local time / 01:17 GMT /, then a few minutes later, tremors of magnitude 6.4 were recorded in the southern province of Gaziantep, and at 13 :24 local time /10:24 GMT/ the same day in Kahramanmarash there was a new earthquake of magnitude 7.6.

Many countries and international aid agencies are providing humanitarian aid to disaster-hit regions.

“This is the moment when we must come together as one humanity to save lives and alleviate the suffering of people who have already suffered enough,” the World Health Organization said in a tweet today.

The country will provide Turkey with the first batch of emergency aid in the amount of 40 million yuan (about 5.89 million US dollars), Deputy Head of China’s International Development Cooperation Agency Deng Boqing said today. He added that China is coordinating efforts to deliver humanitarian supplies to Syria and is accelerating the implementation of the current food aid program.

Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, Russia, France and other countries of the world also expressed their readiness to help Turkey and Syria.

More than 100 Russian rescuers have arrived in Turkey to assist in the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said today.

According to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to Turkey’s request for international assistance, the French side sent emergency personnel who will arrive within a few hours.