Death toll in Turkey, Syria earthquakes rises to more than 15,800

New Delhi: It has been more than 72 hours of one of the most deadliest earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and each second is crucial to save the victims of the natural disaster. 

The latest death toll from Monday’s catastrophic earthquake has crossed 15,800 on Thursday. 

Turkey death toll

Turkiye’s disaster management agency, AFAD, said 12,391 people were killed and 62,914 others were injured in Monday’s quakes centered in Kahramanmaras province.

Other provinces in southern and eastern Türkiye that were affected by the quakes are Gaziantep, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis.

More than 6,000 buildings collapsed due to the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes that occurred in the space of less than 10 hours.

More than 13 million people have been impacted by the quakes.

Syria death toll

3,410 deaths have been reported in Syria so far.

The number of earthquake victims has risen to more than 1,680 people and more than 4,550 injured women, men and children in the liberated northern regions of Syria, and rescue teams are still searching for families trapped under the rubble for the third day.

“Death toll from earthquake in NW Syria has risen to 1,730+ deaths, and 2,850+ injured. The number is likely to rise significantly due to presence of hundreds of families under the rubble of destroyed buildings. Our teams continue rescue operations amid difficult circumstances,” the White Helmets rescue team said.

Also read: Here are five deadliest earthquakes in the history of Turkey

The region sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes.

Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.