Fourteen days after the earthquake of 6 February,
Turkey decided today to stop searches except in the two most affected provinces
,
Kahramanmaras and Hatay
.
This was announced by the government relief agency (AFAD).
"In many provinces, searches have ended. They are continuing in the provinces of Kahramanmaras and Hatay, in around forty buildings," said Unus Sezer, head of Afad.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated the south of the country and Syria killed 40,689 people in Turkey alone, according to the latest official report released Sunday by AFAD.
Antony Blinken announced an additional $100 million in aid for areas affected by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria on February 6.
"The United States will continue to stand by the Turkish and Syrian peoples," tweeted the US secretary of state who is visiting Turkey.
The body of Angelo Zen , the Italian entrepreneur victim of the earthquake in Turkey, who died in the collapse of the hotel where he was staying for work reasons in Kahramanmaras, returned to Italy on
a state flight that landed yesterday afternoon in Venice
.
Zen's coffin, who resided in Martellago (Venice), was transported to Romano D'Ezzelino (Vicenza), where he was born and where his mother lives, and where it has been arranged that only close relatives can visit him.
The funeral ceremony, according to the mayor of the Vicenza town, will be celebrated in Romano in a strictly private form, by the will of the family, probably next week.
The second Italian relief team sent to Hatay, Turkey
, one of the regions most affected by the earthquake, returned to Italy last night, where it worked tirelessly to search for and recover the victims.
The firefighters report it.
There are also 10 Tuscans in the team, with six firefighters (four from the Pisa command, one from the Massa Carrara command and one from the Tuscany regional directorate) and four doctors and nurses.
The team was welcomed at the Pisa airport by the regional director of the Tuscan fire brigade Marco Frezza and the commander of Pisa Nicola Ciannelli.
Earthquake in Turkey, contingent of firefighters returned to Italy