Drone footage: rescuers in Turkish cities search for earthquake survivors (Reuters)
In the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria today (Monday), there are already more than 3,500 dead and 15,000 injured, and now there is a race against the clock in an attempt to rescue those who remain trapped under the ruins of the collapsed houses.
Many countries around the world, including Israel, have offered aid to the two countries, which fear for the lives of the many displaced people, partly because of the winter weather.
One of the advisors of the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that the scope of the disaster in the country is enormous.
The adviser, Inur Çevik, told the BBC network that Ankara does not lack resources, but time.
"Those who are trapped under the rubble, due to the harsh weather conditions, need to be rescued before the temperatures drop and they die of cold, that's why there are tremendous efforts to pressure them."
The consultant also said that "we have radars, body sensors, but there is so much destruction that it is impossible to reach everywhere. Sometimes you have to listen, and we ask people to be quiet, so that you can hear people's calls for help."
A girl watches the sleepers inside a bus in Antakya, after the earthquake, February 6, 2023 (Photo: Reuters)
Turkish residents in a makeshift shelter in Osmania (Photo: Reuters)
Spanning several fault lines, Turkey is one of the most seismologically active regions in the world.
In 2011, more than 500 people were killed in an earthquake in the city of Van in the east of the country.
In the city of Diyarbakir, the aid teams rescued a seven-year-old girl alive from the ruins after about seven hours.
"The earthquake hit the area we were afraid of," the head of the Turkish Red Crescent, Kerem Kinik, told local media.
He called on citizens to donate blood.
Many residents went out in their night clothes into the frozen streets, large parts of which were turned into ruins.
The noise that occurred tonight in Turkey was slightly stronger than the one in 1999 - 7.8 compared to 7.6 - and according to some experts, as powerful as the strongest noise ever measured in the country, in 1939.
It was felt in the countries of the Middle East, including Israel, and even in Greenland.
In the afternoon, the country was already hit by another strong earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.7.
Efforts to rescue those trapped in Antakya, Turkey (Photo: Reuters)
Children near a bonfire in Karamanmaras, Turkey, after the earthquake (Photo: Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared today's disaster to that of 1939, when about 30,000 people died in the southeast of the country.
He said he could not estimate the final number of victims, as the search and rescue efforts were ongoing.
The disaster struck while Turkey and the countries of the region are in the middle of winter.
"Everyone is giving their heart and soul in their efforts, although the winter, the cold weather and the earthquake that occurred during the night make everything more difficult," Erdogan said at a press conference.
According to him, Ankara has received offers of aid from dozens of countries.
The Israeli rescue mission "Olive Branches" left for Turkey tonight.
The delegation, led by the Home Front Command, took off in Air Force planes from Nabatim base, and upon landing will immediately begin the rescue, when it will work in cooperation with Turkish teams and other delegations from around the world.
In the meantime, IDF spokesman Brigadier General Ran Kochav referred to aid to Syria, where the earthquake also caused great destruction, and said: "We did not receive an instruction to help the Syrians.
The mission of the expedition, as defined by the commander of the Home Front Command, Major Rafi Milo, is immediate assistance in the rescue efforts in order to save lives, through rapid mapping of the destruction sites.
At the same time, the delegation is being prepared to provide medical assistance to the rescuers.
news
world news
Asia and the Pacific
Tags
Earthquakes
Turkey
Syria