Update on the Turkey-Syria earthquake: A new wave of tremors resulted in three deaths and over 200 injuries; rescue mission

Update on the Turkey-Syria earthquake: A new wave of tremors resulted in three deaths and over 200 injuries; update regarding the rescue operation: As a result of fears that a number of people might become entangled in rubble, the death toll from the latest wave of earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday night may have increased. Follow.


Istanbul, Turkey: Just two weeks after the larger quake that killed more than 47,000 people and damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, a second earthquake struck the border region between Turkey and Syria on Monday.

The 6.4-magnitude quake on Monday was felt in Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon. It was centered near the southern Turkish city of Antakya.

According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), it struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

According to the HaberTurk broadcaster, Hatay Mayor Lutfu Savas had received reports that some people were trapped beneath the rubble following the most recent earthquake. Suleyman Soylu, the Interior Minister, stated that over 200 people had been injured and three had died.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of the country, AFAD, reported one death in Samandag, where additional buildings collapsed, but the majority of the town had already fled after the initial earthquakes. The dark, deserted streets were lined with piles of garbage and broken furniture.

Hours earlier, while on a visit to Turkey, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Washington would assist "for as long as it takes" as rescue efforts following the Feb. 6 earthquake and its subsequent tremors were winding down and the focus shifted to urgent shelter and reconstruction work.

AFAD reported on Monday that the death toll from the earthquakes two weeks ago in Turkey had increased to 41,156, and it was anticipated that the number would continue to rise. It is known that 385,000 apartments have been destroyed or severely damaged, and many people are still missing.

According to President Tayyip Erdogan, the construction of nearly 200,000 apartments in 11 of Turkey's stricken provinces will begin next month.

According to the U.S. State Department, the total amount of humanitarian aid provided by the United States to Turkey and Syria in response to the earthquake has reached $185 million.

Aid for Syria In a country that has already been devastated by more than a decade of civil war, the majority of deaths have occurred in the northwest, with the United Nations reporting 4,525 deaths there. Aid efforts are hampered by the fact that the region is ruled by insurgents at war with President Bashar al-Assad's supporters.

According to Syrian officials, 1,414 people were killed in Assad's control areas.

According to the humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), a convoy of 14 of its trucks entered northwestern Syria on Sunday from Turkey to assist in rescue efforts.

The World Food Program has also been putting pressure on authorities in that region to stop preventing aid from reaching areas controlled by the Syrian government.

A spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that as of Monday morning, 197 trucks carrying UN humanitarian aid had entered northwest Syria through two border crossings.

In order to get in touch with relatives who have been affected by the destruction, thousands of Syrian refugees living in Turkey have returned to their homes in northwest Syria.

Beginning early on Monday, hundreds of Syrians lined up to cross the border at the Turkish Cilvegozu crossing.

According to Mustafa Hannan, who dropped off his pregnant wife and three-year-old son, 350 people were waiting.

After their Antakya home collapsed, the 27-year-old car electrician announced that his family would leave for a few months, fulfilling the promise made by authorities that they would be able to spend up to six months in Syria without losing the opportunity to return to Turkey.

He stated, "I'm worried they won't be allowed back." We have already been cut off from our country. Are we also going to be cut off from our families at this point? My life will be lost if I rebuild here but they cannot return.