More than 3,400 killed in Turkey’s devastating quakes, says Turkish VP

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkey’s devastating earthquakes have killed more than 3,300 people and injured more than 20,000, according to the country’s vice president.

The country’s southern provinces experienced two major earthquakes and numerous aftershocks within a 24-hour period. 

The death toll rose to 3,419 people as of Tuesday morning, according to Fuat Oktay, the Turkish vice president. 

He said 20,461 people have been injured as a result of the powerful quakes that also struck neighboring Syria, causing a significant humanitarian crisis. At least 1,440 people have been killed in northeast Syria.

Moreover, more than 11,000 buildings have been damaged and at least 5,775 buildings have completely collapsed, according to Turkey's national disaster management agency, AFAD. 

Despite the deployment of 24,000 rescue workers to the impacted sites, more aid is desperately needed, and authorities have asked for more help to save those that are still trapped under the rubble.

“My children, my son-in-law, and daughter are all under the rubbles,” two parents pleading for help told Kurdistan 24 in the southern province of Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the quakes.

At least 13.5 million people in 10 provinces have been affected, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Murat Kurum reported in a press conference on Tuesday morning in Gaziantep, another quake-stricken province.

More than 7,800 people have been rescued so far in Turkey, Tatar said.

At least 60 countries have pledged support for the rescue operation in Turkey, including Ankara’s allies, NATO, US, and other Western nations.

The Kurdistan Region has already provided 15 ambulances and three emergency response teams to its neighbor, Turkey, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced on Monday. 

Other Kurdish leaders have also expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.