Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

UN Expects Death Toll from Turkiye-Syria Earthquakes above 50,000


Mon 13 Feb 2023 | 09:47 PM
Israa Farhan

Rescuers in Turkiye have pulled more people from the rubble of Monday's earthquakes, but hopes were fading in Turkiye and Syria that many more survivors would be found.

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths has said he expects the death toll to at least reach 50,000 after he arrived in southern Turkiye on Saturday to assess the quake's damage.

With a death toll of at least 29,605 in Turkiye, the disaster is already on the list of the top 10 deadliest earthquakes ever. More than 3,500 have died in Syria, where death tolls have not been updated since Friday.

Between Monday and Saturday, the area experienced more than 2,000 aftershocks, according to Turkey's AFAD disaster authority.

Residents of Turkish cities struck by Monday's devastating earthquake continue to report looting incidents, while rights activists warn that many individuals are wrongly attacked over alleged looting.

Reuters news agency reported that business owners in central Antakya emptied their shops on Sunday.

Residents and aid workers warned of the deteriorating security situation. Some residents whose homes were destroyed said their valuables had been stolen.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a presidential decree extending the period of detention for thieves from one day in prison to four. He warned that violators will be dealt with firmly.

On Sunday, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozag announced the arrest of 57 people on charges of looting.

Many Turkish residents were quick to blame the immigrants, including Afghans and Syrians, for fueling xenophobia in a country of millions of foreign nationals.