Death Toll In Turkiye's Earthquake Crosses 45,000-Mark, Says Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu

The minister said a maximum number of 4,267 people belonging to the neighbouring country of Syria were killed in Turkiye due to the earthquake.

Turkiy's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu revealed that the death toll due to last month's earthquake in the country increased to 45,968, reported news agency Reuters on Saturday. He was visiting the quake-ravaged nation's southern city of Antakya, which was left immensely devasted because of the earthquake. The minister said a maximum number of 4,267 people belonging to the neighbouring country of Syria were killed in Turkiye due to the earthquake.

A devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck Turkiye on February 6, 2023, at around 4:15 am TRT (Turkiye Time). The earthquake hit south-central Turkiye near the Turkiye/Syria border, and just 11 minutes later, was followed by an aftershock of magnitude 6.7. More than 300 aftershocks shook Turkiye, the largest of which was a magnitude 7.5 aftershock.

Just a fortnight ago, another earthquake had struck southeast Turkiye on February 27, killing one person, wounding 110, and collapsing 29 houses, according to Turkish police, reported Reuters. It added that the incident sparked frantic efforts to rescue numerous others thought to be trapped under rubble. 

The latest aftershock, with a magnitude of 5.6 and a depth of 6.15 kilometres occurred three weeks after a catastrophic earthquake in Turkiye and Syria that killed over 50,000 people.

There have been four new earthquakes in the region in the last three weeks, as well as over 45 aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from five to six, according to Orhan Tatar, AFAD's general director of earthquake and risk reduction.

"This is very extraordinary activity," Tatar was quoted by Reuters in its report.

The earthquakes happened months before presidential and legislative elections slated for June, which would pose President Tayyip Erdogan with his most serious electoral threat in his two-decade leadership.

Erdogan recognised the failings of his government's reaction to the tragedy during a press conference in Adiyaman, one of the regions most impacted by the Feb. 6 earthquake.

"In the first days, we were not able to conduct work as efficiently as we wanted to in Adiyaman, for reasons such as the destructive impact of the tremors, adverse weather and challenges due to the damaged infrastructure," Erdogan said.