Turkey Earthquake Live Updates: Death toll crosses 11,000
Turkey, Syria Earthquake News Updates Today: While the death toll rose above 8,754 in Turkey alone, in Syria, the toll climbed to more than 2,500 overnight, Reuters reported. The number of people killed is likely to go up.
Turkey, Syria Earthquake Live Updates: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting quake-hit areas as anger mounts among the people over the “slow and inadequate response” by authorities. The death toll from the quakes in Turkey and Syria together has crossed 11,200.
Rescue workers are still struggling to reach some of the worst-hit areas. They are held back by destroyed roads, poor weather, and a lack of resources and heavy equipment. They fear the toll may go up even higher in the hours ahead. Many of the survivors also fear there could be deaths due to cold and hunger.
Ten Indians are stuck in remote parts of earthquake-hit Turkey but they are safe while one citizen is missing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, news agency PTI reported. Secretary (West) in the MEA Sanjay Verma said the Indians in Turkiye are relatively safe. He said the government is in touch with the family members of the Indian who is missing in Turkiye.
Scroll down to read the latest updates on what’s happening.
Blaze at Turkey’s Iskenderun port under control: Maritime Authority
A container blaze at Turkey’s southern port of Iskenderun has been brought under control, Turkey’s maritime authority said on Wednesday, following combined extinguishing efforts from land, sea, and air, Reuters reported.
The port operations were shut down until further notice after a fire broke out due to the earthquake that hit the region on Monday. “Pending ships should be directed to other facilities as ship handling services cannot be provided,” the authority said in a tweet.
A source from the port told Reuters that the flames had not spread to the area where flammable materials were stored, and that the nature of the fire, which has unleashed a huge cloud of black smoke over the city, was still unclear.
Pope Francis offers prayers to victims affected by Turkey-Syria earthquake
As the death toll due to an earthquake in Turkey and its neighbor Syria mounted to nearly 10,000, Pope Francis on Wednesday offered his prayers for the thousands of victims affected and called on the international community to continue to support rescue and recovery efforts, Reuters reported.
Addressing his weekly audience in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican, he said, “I am praying for them with emotion and I wanted to say that I am close to these people, to the families of the victims, and everyone who is suffering from this devastating disaster”.
“I thank those who are offering help and encourage everyone to show solidarity with these countries, some of which have already been battered by a long war,” he added. (Courtesy: Reuters)
