ALEPPO (Syria), Feb 8 — At least 2,530 people were killed and over 4,500 others injured in Syria in a series of powerful earthquakes centred in southern Türkiye that jolted the wider region early on Monday, according to figures compiled on Wednesday.
The Syrian regime’s Health Ministry said at least 1,250 people were killed and 2,045 others injured in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus, Anadolu Agency reported.
Meanwhile, in areas controlled by the opposition in northwestern Syria, at least 1,280 people were reportedly killed and more than 2,600 others injured, figures compiled by the Syrian Civil Defense, the Syrian Network for Human Rights and other local health sources, showed.
A large number of buildings were also destroyed or damaged in the opposition-held areas in northern Syria, where rescue teams are frantically searching for survivors.
In Turkiye, Anadolu Agency reported that at least 7,108 people were killed and 40,910 others injured by the strong earthquakes so far.
More than 96,670 search and rescue teams are currently conducting operations in the field, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said in a statement.
“As a result of the negotiations with the Turkish Foreign Ministry, 5,309 personnel coming from other countries for help were dispatched to the disaster area,” it added.
Besides rescue teams, blankets, tents, food, and psychological support teams were also sent to the affected areas.
A total of 70,818 family tents were set up to shelter survivors, AFAD also said.
It added that 5,434 vehicles, including excavators, tractors and dozers, were sent to the disaster area.
For search and rescue operations to be carried out rapidly, Türkiye on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for three months in 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.
“We are facing one of the biggest disasters not only of the history of the Turkish Republic but also of our geography and the world,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
