Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Desk-
Turkish authorities have confirmed the deaths of 2,921 people after its southeastern region bordering Syria was rocked by major earthquakes. A further 1,444 people are confirmed to have died in Syria.
The initial magnitude 7.8 tremor early on Monday brought down buildings as people slept and was followed by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake hours later amid several aftershocks, reports Al Jazeera.
‘God gave me a new lease on life’: Syrian survivor
Osama Abdul Hamid barely made it out alive with his wife and four children when their apartment building collapsed in the village of Azmarin in rebel-held northwestern Syria.
In a hospital in the town of Darkush in western Idlib, Abdul Hamid told The Associated Press news agency that he and his family were sleeping in their apartment when they were roused by powerful, prolonged shaking.
They ran from the apartment, but “before we reached the door of the building, the whole building came down on us,” he said.
A wooden door shielded them from the worst force of the collapse – they all got out alive.
He and his wife and three of the children suffered head injuries, but are all in stable condition.
“The building is four stories, and from three of them, no one made it out,” Abdul Hamid told AP, breaking down in tears.
“God gave me a new lease on life.”
Rescuers working through frigid night in Turkey’s Sanliurfa
Rescuers braved freezing temperatures in the southeastern Turkish city of Sanliurfa as they worked through the night to try and pull survivors from the wreckage of collapsed buildings.
At the site of a flattened seven-storey building, Omer El Cuneyd waited for news of survivors.
“There is a family I know under the rubble,” the 20-year-old Syrian student told the AFP news agency. “Until 11:00am or noon, my friend was still answering the phone. But she no longer answers. She is down there.”
Sanliurfa’s streets, meanwhile, were filled with terrified residents who spent the night outside despite the bitter cold.
Mustafa Koyuncu packed his wife and their five children into their car, too scared to move. “We can’t go home,” the 55-year-old told AFP. “Everyone is afraid.”
Turkey death toll rises to 2,921
Turkey’s relief agency says the death toll from Monday’s earthquakes has climbed to 2,921.
Yunus Sezer, who heads the AFAD agency, said an additional 15,384 people were injured, while 6,217 buildings have collapsed.
The two quakes were followed by 243 aftershocks, he said, adding that 16,400 rescue workers were active in the affected areas.
