Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag confirmed this Saturday that five more builders have been arrested in recent hours, including the person responsible for an apartment building where a person was found alive 248 hours after the quakes.
Another detainee, charged with murder and causing negligent injury, was captured while attempting to flee to the Greek islands in a sailboat.
The Turkish government launched a major search and arrest operation for hundreds of construction workers involved in building collapses, also to appease the population.
More than 44,000 people died in Turkey after the two strong earthquakes that hit the country and northern Syria on February 6, authorities said today, who rescued two people from the rubble.
With about 300 hours since the earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale – with its epicenter on Turkish territory – and followed by several aftershocks, one of which measured 7.5, the chances of finding survivors of day to day off.
The region affected by the earthquakes extends over 100,000 square kilometers, with a population of about 14 million people.
On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) increased the international request for financial aid for the victims of these earthquakes to 84.5 million dollars (79 million euros).
Source: DN
