Almost 2,500 people are confirmed to have died in the earthquake in Turkey

The earthquake that struck southeast Turkey has already claimed almost 2,500 lives.

Orhan Tatar, a spokesman for the Turkish Government’s Office for Emergency Situations (AFAD), speaking on local television this Monday, February 5, confirmed that the death toll from the earthquake in the southeast of Turkey was already close to 2,500. Another 13,200 were reported injured he added.

“At the moment, the death toll is 2,316. ​​13,293 people were injured. The number of buildings destroyed is 6,217”, he explained. Earlier, AFAD reported 1,762 dead and 12,068 injured.

According to Fakhrettin Kodzhi, the head of the Ministry of Health of the Republic, 147 repeated tremors have been recorded in the region since the first earthquake. “Severe damage has been reported in 10 provinces”, he detailed.

According to the minister, in the city of Iskenderun in Hatay province, a state hospital was destroyed, while another large hospital was seriously damaged.

“Under the rubble of the destroyed hospital are patients and employees, rescue activities are underway”, he said. Due to the lack of beds currently available in medical institutions, earthquake victims are being airlifted for treatment in other cities. 

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8 occurred this Monday morning in the province of Kahramanmaras in southeastern Turkey. Another earthquake of magnitude 7.7 struck just after midday. More than 460 people have also reportedly died in neighbouring Syria, according to tass.ru.

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