Earthquake deaths pass 33,000 as Turkey approaches worst since 1939

The death toll from the earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria on Monday (6) rose to 33,179 this Sunday (12), according to official data.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake left 29,605 dead in southern Turkey, announced today the country’s public disaster management agency, to which add 3,574 deaths registered in Syria.

With the mark, Turkey is approaching its historic record — 33,000 lost their lives in the 1939 earthquake.

Almost a week after the tragedy, rescuers are still trying to find people alive under the rubble, and Turkish authorities have started legal action against contractors of buildings that collapsed.

The quality of construction in a country located on several seismic faults was on the agenda for the day after the earthquake.

Vice President Fuat Oktay said that so far 131 suspects have been identified as responsible for the collapse of some of the thousands of buildings destroyed in the 10 affected provinces.

“We will follow this meticulously until the necessary legal process is completed, especially for buildings that have sustained heavy damage and buildings that have caused deaths and injuries,” he said.

In a scenario where cities turned to dust, survivors set up tents as close as possible to their damaged or destroyed homes to avoid being looted.

Gizem, a rescuer in the southeastern Turkish province of Sanliurfa, said he saw looters in the city of Antakya. “We can’t intervene too much as most looters carry knives.”

An elderly resident of Kahramanmaras said gold jewelry in his home was stolen, while in the port city of Iskenderun, police stationed themselves at intersections on commercial streets with many telephones and jewelry stores.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, has warned that looters will be severely punished.

Along the main road leading to the city of Antakya, where the few remaining buildings had large cracks or collapsed facades, traffic occasionally stopped as rescuers called for silence to detect signs of life remaining beneath the ruins.

The earthquake occurred ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections in June, in which Erdogan is running for a new term. Even before the disaster, his popularity was falling due to rising inflation and a falling Turkish currency.

Some people affected by the tragedy and opposition politicians accuse the government of slowness in relief efforts. Critics have questioned why the army, which played a key role after the 1999 earthquake, was not called up sooner.

Erdogan acknowledged the problems, including the challenge of delivering aid — despite damaged roads and streets — but said the situation had been brought under control. He called for solidarity and condemned “negative” politicking.

Meanwhile, in Syria, rebels from the civil war that has raged across the country for 12 years are now disrupting relief work. Aid sent from government-controlled regions to areas under the rule of radical opposition groups has been held back by approval problems with the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is responsible for much of the area affected by the earthquake, the UN said. this Sunday.

An HTS source in Idlib told Reuters news agency that the group would not allow any cargo from the government and that help would come from Turkey in the north. According to the source, Turkey has opened all roads and the group will not allow the Syrian regime to take advantage of the situation to show that it is helping.

The European Union’s envoy to Syria on Sunday urged authorities in Damascus to “engage in good faith” with aid workers. “It’s important to allow unimpeded access so that aid gets to all areas where it’s needed,” said Dan Stoenescu.

The earthquake is the world’s seventh deadliest natural disaster this century. In Turkey, according to official data, 80,000 are hospitalized and more than 1 million people are in temporary shelters.