UPDATED 2/6/23 6:3AM
NURDAG, Turkey (AP) — Search teams and emergency aid from around the world are pouring into Turkey and Syria as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dig through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise. But with the damage spread over a wide area, the massive relief operation often struggled to reach devastated towns, and voices that had been crying out from the rubble fell silent. Monday’s quake cut a swath of destruction that stretched hundreds of kilometers across southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria. It toppled thousands of buildings and heaping more misery on a region shaped by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.
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UPDATED: 9:12AM 2/6/23
Washington AP (WBAP/KLIF) – ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — President Joe Biden has conveyed his condolences to those affected by the deadly quake and offered to send U.S. help to Turkey if needed. Biden wrote on Twitter that he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake” in Turkey and Syria. The death toll in the region has risen to over 2,300.
The president of Turkey’s disaster management authority, Yunus Sezer, says more than 40 countries have so far offered help. English Premier League Newcastle United has voiced fears for the fate of its former player Christian Atsu, who is reportedly among those trapped under the rubble in Kahramanmaras. The Ghanaian international spent several years with Newcastle and Chelsea before signing with Turkish side Hatayspor last summer.
Original post:
AZMARIN, Syria (AP) — A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake has rocked wide swaths of Turkey and Syria. It toppled hundreds of buildings and killed more than 1,500 people. Hundreds are still believed to be trapped under rubble, and the toll is expected to rise as rescue workers search mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area. On both sides of the border, residents jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn quake rushed outside on a cold, rainy and snowy night. Buildings were reduced to piles of pancaked floors. Major aftershocks continued. Rescue workers and residents in multiple cities searched for survivors, working through tangles of metal and concrete.
(Associated Press)