At least 19,388 dead in Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced
At least 19,388 dead have been pulled from the rubble in Turkey during the first five days of searches, Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced. The victims in Turkey and Syria now exceed 23,000.
It is the deadliest earthquake to hit Turkey since 1939, when 33,000 people lost their lives, while it is already deadlier than the 1999 earthquake in Izmir with 17,000 dead.
Above of 141,000 rescuers, among them personnel from foreign countries are currently working in the areas affected by the earthquake, said the Turkish president.
The help “doesn’t arrive as fast as expected”, the Turkish president acknowledged earlier for the first time,
“The disaster affected so many buildings (…) that unfortunately, we were not able to provide emergency assistance as quickly as we had hoped,” admitted the head of the Turkish state during his visit to the city of Antiyaman (south), which has been seriously affected by the disaster.
Erdogan had already on Wednesday acknowledged “gaps” in the authorities’ response to the earthquake, saying it was “impossible to be prepared for such a disaster”.
The embattled Turkish president, who has been in power for 20 years and wants to stay on after elections scheduled for May 14, has been heavily criticized by survivors for the slowness of aid arriving in the affected areas.
In Antiyaman province, one of the worst affected by the earthquakes, Mehmet Yildirim told AFP yesterday “I didn’t see anyone before 14:00 on the second day after the earthquake”, i.e. 34 hours after the first tremor. “Neither the state nor the police nor soldiers. Same on you! You left us to our fate.”
Many people complain of shortages in available means, especially supplies. AFP noted on Thursday the deployment of more hoists and rescuers – especially foreigners – in the city.
“Maybe during this period there have been shortages, technical problems, but we are on the side of our people with all our means,” Erdogan insisted.
The victims in Syria
In Syria, the death toll has reached almost 4,000 both in government and rebel-held areas. More than 7,000 people have been injured or are missing. Reports say that more than 60,000 people have lost their homes and are in various shelters.
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