Turkey-Syria earthquake - The African Mirror

Feb

2023

By KEMAL ASLAN, MAYA GEBEILY and KHALIL ASHAWI

Children plucked from ruins days after earthquake, but death tolls tops 22,000

RESCUE crews saved a 10-day-old baby and his mother trapped in the ruins of a building in Turkey and dug several people from other sites as President Tayyip Erdogan said authorities should have reacted faster to this week's huge earthquake. The confirmed death toll from the deadliest quake in the region in two decades stood at more than 22,000 across southern Turkey and northwest Syria four days after it hit. Hundreds of thousands more people have been left homeless and short of food in bleak winter conditions and leaders in both countries have faced questions about their response. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made…

Feb

2023

By UMIT BEKTAS, MEHMET CALISKAN and KHALIL ASHAWI

Hope for more survivors fades as Turkey-Syria earthquake toll passes 20,000

WORLD

COLD, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 20,000. The rescue of a 2-year-old boy after 79 hours trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, and several other people raised spirits among weary search crews. But hopes were fading that many more would be found alive in the ruins of towns and cities. The death toll across both countries has now surpassed the more than 17,000 killed in 1999 when a similarly powerful quake hit northwest…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Amid rows of bodies, Turks check for relatives one by one after earthquake

WORLD

TURKS stepped over hundreds of bodies in stadiums and parking lots, carefully lifting blankets from their faces to try to identify dead relatives after a once-in-a-generation earthquake devastated the region. Nada, a Syrian woman, and her Turkish husband asked a staff member how best to find their niece and aunt among the more than 100 bodies lined up in the parking lot of the Hatay Research Hospital near the southern city of Antakya. "Check one by one," they were told. "My wife doesn't speak Turkish, and I can't see very well," said the husband, who did not give a name. "We have…

Feb

2023

By GLORIA DICKIE

Explainer: Why was the Turkey-Syria earthquake so bad?

WORLD

THE magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria is likely to be one of the deadliest this decade, seismologists said, with a more than 100 km (62 miles) rupture between the Anatolian and Arabian plates. Here is what scientists said happened beneath the earth's surface and what to expect in the aftermath: WHERE DID THE EARTHQUAKE ORIGINATE? The epicentre was about 26 km east of the Turkish city of Nurdagi at a depth of about 18 km on the East Anatolian Fault. The quake radiated towards the northeast, bringing devastation to central Turkey and Syria. During the 20th century, the…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Ghana footballer pulled out of earthquake rubble

NEWS

Ghana international winger Christian Atsu has been found alive after being buried under rubble in the earthquake that hit Turkey, the vice president of his club Hatayspor told the media. Atsu was reported missing in Turkey's Hatay province following the 7.8 magnitude quake that brought down thousands of buildings, killing some 5,000 people, in several Turkish and Syrian cities on Monday. "Christian Atsu was pulled out injured. Our sporting director, Taner Savut, is unfortunately still under the rubble," club vice president Mustafa Ozat told Radyo Gol. 🎙️ Doç. Dr. Hatayspor Yöneticisi Mustafa Özat:“Christian Atsu yaralı olarak çıkarıldı. Sportif direktörümüz Taner Savut, maalesef hala…