Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

3 Egyptians Trapped under Rubble in Turkey Earthquake


Mon 06 Feb 2023 | 03:17 PM
H-Tayea

On Monday, a member of the administrative body of the Egyptian Students Union in Turkey, Nour El-Din Mahmoud, revealed that there are 3 Egyptians from one family ( a father, a mother, and a student, are still trapped under the rubble after an earthquake shook the country’s south and also northern Syria.

In press statements, Nour El-Din confirmed that they are communicating with all Egyptian students and families residing in the southern Turkish states, which were affected by the earthquake repercussions, stressing that there are no confirmed deaths among Egyptians there so far.

He indicated that there is continuous follow-up across Turkey, explaining that the three Egyptians are likely under the rubble.

Thousands of rescuers dug in to save some of the people trapped under rubble after an earthquake devastated a large area of southeast Turkey on Monday.

The 7.8-magnitude quake, which also affected northern Syria, reduced buildings to rubble. Officials reported at least 912 dead and nearly 5,400 injured after the main tremor struck in the early hours.

“We do not know how far the number of dead and injured will rise as debris removal works continue in many buildings in the earthquake zone,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said from the emergency headquarters in Ankara.

The disaster was the country’s biggest since an earthquake in 1939, he said.

About 2,470 people have been rescued so far, while at least 2,818 buildings have been destroyed.

Ovgun Ahmet Ercan, a geophysics engineer, said the death toll could be expected to rise significantly, compounded by wintry conditions.

“A force with the power of 130 atom bombs was discharged,” he said. “If so many structures have been destroyed, and the number of casualties may exceed 6,000. The structures are completely crushed.

“It’s possible people may to freeze to death.”