Thousands of people were killed on Monday, February 6, 2023 in southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria by a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed a few hours later by a very strong aftershock. The first tremor occurred at 04:17 local time, in the district of Pazarcik, in the province of Kahramanmaras (southeast), about 60 km in a straight line from the border with Syria. Dozens of aftershocks followed, before a new earthquake of magnitude 7.5, at 7:24 am, still in southeastern Turkey, 4 km southeast of the town of Ekinozu. According to the Danish Geological Institute, the tremors were felt as far away as Greenland. This death toll continues to grow, with large numbers of people trapped under collapsed buildings numbering in the thousands. The rain and snow, which fell abundantly in some places, and the expected drop in temperatures make the work of the emergency services even more difficult, and the situation of the inhabitants on the street. This earthquake is the largest in Turkey since the earthquake on August 17, 1999, which killed 17,000 people, including a thousand in Istanbul. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for national unity, saying that Turkey has received offers of help from 45 countries. He decreed seven days of national mourning. As for the Syrian government, he asked the international community for help. Messages of support poured in from around the world, from US President Joe Biden to his Russian counterparts Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping, to Pope Francis who said he was “deeply saddened”, as well as offers of humanitarian and medical aid.
Source: BFM TV
