Rescuers race against time to find quake survivors in southern Türkiye

At least 20,665 people were killed and nearly 93,000 others injured by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Friday. The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaraş province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, also including Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Şanlıurfa. Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of fewer than 10 hours. Vice President Fuat Oktay said at a news conference in the nation's capital of Ankara that 67 people were rescued from the rubble in 24 hours. Speaking in Adıyaman, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: 'We experienced one of the greatest natural disasters in our nation's history.' It added that 7,716 personnel from foreign countries were also dispatched to the disaster zone. The Foreign Ministry said a total of 97 countries have offered assistance and that search and rescue teams from 61 nations are currently continuing their efforts in the field. A total of 190,000 people have been evacuated from quake-hit regions, said Oktay. So far, presidential planes have also transported 126 injured people, including 16 infants, to hospitals in the capital Ankara. Besides rescue teams, blankets, tents, food, and psychological support teams, along with 12,244 vehicles, including excavators, tractors, and bulldozers, were also sent to affected areas. Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum said the country will launch the 'biggest disaster housing mobilization' in the history of the Republic of Türkiye simultaneously in 10 provinces. A large number of aircraft for transport, including A-400Ms, carried search and rescue teams and vehicles to the region. Moreover, 77 field hospitals were set up in the 10 provinces. Erdoğan on Thursday said the quakes in southern Türkiye can be described as 'the disaster of the century,' adding that the state has mobilized all its means to help the victims. The Turkish parliament on Thursday approved a three-month state of emergency to speed up aid efforts. Condolences have poured in from around the world expressing solidarity with Türkiye, with many countries sending rescue teams and aid.

Rescuers race against time to find quake survivors in southern Türkiye

The death toll in Türkiye from this week's devastating earthquakes has surpassed the 20,000 threshold, with the number of people injured reached 80,052, the country's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Friday.