Between Türkiye and Syria, there are approximately 912 confirmed victims from the earthquake of the last few hours, while the injured are 5.383.
According to figures provided by CNN, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake caused 386 deaths in Syria, most of them in the regions of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus.
'It was the strongest earthquake since 1939,' said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking at a government meeting after the powerful earthquake that hit southern Turkey.
The Syrian civil protection NGO White Helmets has declared a state of emergency in the northeast of the country and has launched an appeal to international humanitarian organizations to intervene with aid quickly. The earthquake occurred at 4:17 in the morning (2:17 Italian time) and had its epicenter near Gaziantep, a city in southeastern Turkey about fifty kilometers from the Syrian border.
Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake: in addition to homes, the Church of the Annunciation in Iskenderun, a 19th-century Catholic cathedral, almost completely collapsed. The Gaziantep Castle, a Roman-era structure built in the third century, was reduced to a pile of rubble.
Rescue operations continue, it is estimated that many people are still under the rubble and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is constantly informed about the situation.
The Civil Protection Department had initially issued an alert for a possible tsunami due to the earthquake in Turkey but the alert was later revoked.
The United States has expressed its willingness to send “any kind of assistance” to Ankara, while Azerbaijan has already sent a team of 370 people to help with the relief effort. The earthquake was also felt in central Turkey and Israel.
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